INTERNATIONAL  BUSINESS  LIBRARY 


SALESMANSHIP 

THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


BY 


THOMAS  HERBERT  RUSSELL,  A.  M.,  LL.  D. 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

Author  of  "Business  Principles  and  Methods,"  "Natural  Resources 

and  National  Wealth,"  etc.,  etc.;  former  Editor-in-Chief 

Webster's  Universal  Dictionary 

ASSISTED  BY 

A  CORPS  OF  BUSINESS  EXPERTS 


Chicago 


COPYRIGHT  1910  BY 
INTERNATIONAL   LAW   A    BUSINESS    INSTITUTE 


WHITMAN  PUBLISHING  CO. 
RACINE     -     CHICAGO 


. 


"Ever  judge  of  men  by  their  professions.  For 
though  the  bright  moment  of  promising  is  but  a  mo- 
ment, and  cannot  be  prolonged,  yet  if  sincere  in  its 
moment's  extravagant  goodness,  why,  trust  it,  and 
know  the  man  by  it,  not  by  his  performance." — 
Browning. 


"A  lawyer  without  history  or  literature  is  a  mechanic, 
a  mere  working  mason ;  if  he  possesses  some  knowledge 
of  these  he  may  venture  to  call  himself  an  architect." 
— Sir  Walter  Scott. 


M71244? 


What  counts  infinitely  more  than  any  possible  outside 
reward  is  the  spirit  of  the  worker  himself.  The  prime 
need  is  to  instill  into  the  mind  *  *  *  a  true  apprecia- 
tion of  real  as  distinguished  from  sham  success  *  *  * 
Combine  the  power  of  devotion  to  a  lofty  ideal  with  prac- 
tical common  sense  in  striving  to  realize  the  ideal. 

— Theodore  Roosevelt. 


ASSOCIATE  EDITORS. 

RICHABD  CANNING,  President  Northwestern  Finance  Company, 
Minneapolis,  Minn. 

H.  M.  COOMBS,  special  lecturer  on  Credits  and  Collections,  In- 
ternational Law  and  Business  Institute. 

JAMES  J.  CRAIG,  A.  B.,  special  lecturer  on  Insurance,  International 
Law  and  Business  Institute. 

C.  A.  ECKLUND,  special  lecturer  on  Accounting  and  Auditing  and 
Financial  Management,  International  Law  and  Business  Institute. 

G.  A.  OBTH,  LL.  B.,  adjuster  Travelers'  Insurance  Co. 

C.  N.  SMITH,  special  lecturer  on  Business  Systems,  International 
Law  and  Business  Institute. 

J.  T.  THOMPSON,  formerly  of  the  Ontario  bar. 

A.  C.  WILKINSON,  special  lecturer  on  Salesmanship  and  Advertis- 
ing, International  Law  and  Business  Institute. 

GEO.  E.  YOUNG,  of  the  Minnesota  bar,  special  lecturer  on  Commer- 
cial Law  and  Corporations,  International  Law  and  Business  Institute. 

C.  E.  ZIMMERMAN,  expert  on  Publicity  and  Sales  Promotion, 
Chicago. 


AUTHORITIES  CONSULTED. 

CYRUS  C.  ADAMS,  author  of  "A  Text-Book  of  Commercial  Geogra- 
phy." 

JOSEPH  A.  ARNOLD,  Editor  and  Chief  of  Division  of  Publications, 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

W.  J.  ASHLEY,  M.  A.,  professor  of  Economic  History  in  Harvard 
University;  author  of  "An  Introduction  to  English  Economic  History 
and  Theory." 

HARRY  C.  BENTLEY,  C.  P.  A.,  author  of  "Corporate  Finance  and  Ac- 
counting." 

RIGHT  HONORABLE  JAMES  BRYCE,  British  Ambassador  to  the  United 
States;  author  of  "The  American  Commonwealth." 

ANDREW  CARNEGIE,  author  of  "The  Empire  of  Business,"  "Tha 
Gospel  of  Wealth,"  "Triumphant  Democracy."  etc.  etc. 

CHARLES  U.  CARPENTER,  author  of  "Profit-Making  in  Shop  and  Fac- 
tory Management." 

4 


AUTHORITIES    CONSULTED.  9 

A.  HAMILTON  CHUBCH,  author  of  "The  Proper  Distribution  of  Ex- 
pense Burden." 

THOMAS  CONYNGTON,  of  the  New  York  bar;  author  of  "Corporate 
Organization,"  "Corporate  Management"  "The  Modern  Corporation,  Its 
Mechanism,  Methods,  Formation  and  Management,"  etc. 

WILLIAM  AMELIUS  CORBION,  author  of  "the  Principles  of  Salesman- 
ship, Deportment  and  System." 

DR.  STUART  DAGGETT,  University  of  California,  author  of  "Railroad 
Reorganization." 

LAWRENCE  R.  DICKSEE,  F.  C.  A.  professor  of  Accounting  at  the 
University  of  Birmingham;  author  of  "Office  Organization  and  Man- 
agement." 

HON.  JOHN  F.  DBYDEN,  former  United  States  Senator;  president  of 
The  Prudential  Insurance  Company  of  America;  author  of  "Life  In- 
surance as  a  Career,"  "Uniform  Law  and  Legislation  on  Life  Insur- 
ance," etc.,  etc. 

E.  DANA  DURAND,  Director  of  the  Census  Bureau,  Washington,  D.  C. 

SEYMOUR  EATON,  Director  of  the  Department  of  Industry  and  Fi- 
nance, Drexel  Institute,  Philadelphia;  author  of  "How  To  Do  Business." 

JAMES  H.  ECKELS,  former  Comptroller  of  the  Currency;  author  of 
"The  Methods  of  Banking,"  etc. 

HARRINGTON  EMERSON,  author  of  "Efficiency  as  a  Basis  for  Opera- 
tion and  Wages." 

A.  NORTON  FITCH,  of  the  Tacoma  (Wash.)  bar,  formerly  of  tkt 
Rochester  (New  York)  bar;  author  of  "New  Commercial  Law." 

E.  K.  FOLTZ,  author  of  "The  Federal  Civil  Service  as  a  Career." 

DAVID  R.  FORGAN,  president  of  the  National  City  Bank  of  Chi- 
cago. 

H.  L.  GANTT,  member  of  the  American  Society  of  Mechanical  En- 
gineers; author  of  "Training  Workmen  in  Habits  of  Industry  and  Co- 
operation," etc.,  etc. 

JAMES  C.  GIPE,  Secretary  Joint  Committee  on  Conservation,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

JOHN  H.  GRAY,  Ph.  D.,  professor  of  Economics  and  Political  Sci- 
ence, University  of  Minnesota. 

W.   C.   HOLMAN,  former  editor  of  Salesmanship  Magazine. 

EBNEST  W.  HUFFCUT,  former  Dean  of  the  Cornell  University  Col- 
lege of  Law;  author  of  "The  Elements  of  Business  Law." 

JINKIN  LLOYD  JONES,  Abraham  Lincoln  Center,  Chicago. 

HON.  W.  L.  MACKENZIE  KING,  C.  M.  G.,  M.  P.,  Minister  of  Labor, 
Dominion  of  Canada. 

M.  G.  LAROCHELLE,  Joint  Commissioner,  Civil  Service  Commission 
of  Canada,  Ottawa,  Canada. 

PROF.  J.  LAURENCE  LAUGHLIN,  former  head  of  the  Department  of 
Political  Economy,  University  of  Chicago. 


6  AUTHORITIES  CONSULTED. 

PAUL  MORTON,  president  of  The  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Company. 

ALEXANDER  DANA  NOTES,  financial  editor  "New  York  Evening  Post" 

GEORGE  W.  PERKINS,  23  Wall  Street,  New  York. 

CARL  HORTON  PIERCE,  lecturer  on  "Salesman-Making,"  New  York 
Y.  M.  C.  A.;  author  of  "Scientific  Salesmanship." 

CHAS.  F.  ROLAND,  Secretary  of  the  Winnipeg  Development  and 
Industrial  Bureau,  Winnipeg,  Manitoba. 

WILLIAM  A.  SCHONFELD,  attorney  and  counselor-at-law ;  author  of 
"A  Compendium  of  Laws." 

WM.  A.  SCOTT,  director  of  Course  in  Commerce,  University  of 
Wisconsin;  author  of  "Money  and  Banking,"  etc.,  etc. 

EDWIN  R.  A.  SELIGMAN,  LL.  D,,  author  of  "Essays  in  Taxation," 
"The  Economic  Interpretation  of  History,"  "Principles  of  Econom- 
ics," etc.,  etc. 

ARTHUR  B.  SHELTON,  Secretary  of  the  National  Monetary  Commis- 
sion, Washington,  D.  C. 

ADAM  SMITH,  LL.  D.,  author  of  "The  Wealth  of  Nations." 

GOLDWIN  SMITH,  D.  C.  L.,  LL.  D.,  author  of  "The  Relations  Be- 
tween America  and  England,"  "Canada  and  the  Canadian  Question," 
"History  of  the  United  States,"  "Essays  on  Questions  of  the  Day,"  etc., 
etc. 

SAMUEL  E.  SPARKLING,  Ph.  D.,  author  of  "Business  Organization." 

EDWARD  W.  SPENCER,  of  the  Milwaukee  bar,  author  of  "Manual  of 
Commercial  Law,"  and  "The  Elements  of  Commercial  Law." 

F.  W.  TAUSSIG,  professor  of  Political  Economy  in  Harvard  Uni- 
versity; author  of  "Wages  and  Capital." 

FREDERICK  WINSLOW  TAYLOR,  expert  in  Industrial  Organization, 
Philadelphia,  Pa.;  author  of  "A  Piece-Rate  System,"  "Shop  Manage- 
ment," etc.,  etc. 

R.  WHATELY  COOKE  TAYLOR,  author  of  "Introduction  to  a  History 
of  the  Factory  System." 

HENRY  W.  THURSTON,  head  of  the  Department  of  Social  and  Eco- 
nomic Science  in  the  Chicago  Normal  School;  author  of  "Economics 
and  Industrial  History." 

HON.  JOHN  WANAMAKER,  Philadelphia. 

ALGERNON  WARREN,  author  of  "Commercial  Traveling:  Its  Feature*, 
Past  and  Present." 


SALESMANSHIP 

THEORY 

AND 
PRACTICE 


SALESMANSHIP  -  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


ASSOCIATE  EDITORS  AJSTD  AUTHORITIES 


PAGE 
4 


INTRODUCTION   15 

Chapter  I.    SELF-TRAINING  IN  SALESMANSHIP 21 

Development  of  Selling  Power — Essen- 
tials of  Salesmanship — General  Knowl- 
edge Desirable — Training  the  Senses — 
Exercise  of  Judgment — Combating  Evil 
Passions — Why  Knowledge  is  Necessary 
— Concentration — Imagination  a  Valua- 
ble Asset — Training  the  Will  Power — 
Originality  and  Initiative — Steps  in  Self- 
Training. 

Chapter          II.    PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 31 

Finding  the  ' '  Prospect ' ' — Preliminary 
Preparation — The  Approach — Gaining 
Attention— "Sizing  Him  Up  "--The 
Demonstration— The  Selling  Talk— The 
Convincing  Argument — Closing  the  Sale 
— Elements  of  a  Sale  (Salesman,  Goods, 
Buyer) — Selling  Force — Enthusiasm — 
Keeping  Up  Steam — Reading  the  Cus- 
tomer— Various  Types  of  Buyers — Power 
of  the  Will — Power  of  the  Voice — Sugges1- 
tion  —  Auto-Suggestion —  Character  and 
Health — Practical  Hints  for  Salesmen. 


Chapter       III. 


MARKETING  A  PRODUCT 

Organization  of  Distribution — The  Job- 
ber or  Wholesaler — Modern  Methods  of 
Marketing — Advantage  of  a  Sales  Force 
—Assisting  the  Jobber — The  Advertising 
Department. 

9 


59 


10 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Chapter        IV.    PERSONALITY  OF  THE  SALESMAN 


69 


Trained  Faculties  Required  —  Personal 
Appearance  —  Personal  Character  —  Use 
of  the  Intellect  —  Tact  Makes  Friends— 
The  Armor  of  Self  -Control—  Value  of 
Politeness  —  Be  Cheerful  and  Prompt  — 
Earnestness  of  Purpose. 

Chapter         V.    THE  SCIENTIFIC  SALESMAN  ..............  81 

Scientific  Salesmanship  Involves  Study- 
Education  —  Application  —  Personal  Qual- 
ities— Self  -Control—  A  Student  of  Men— 
A  Cultivated  Memory  —  Shrewdness  and 
Honesty  —  Knowledge  of  the  Goods  —  In- 
dustry and  Perseverance  —  Getting  out  of 
Ruts. 


Chapter        VI.    SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE 


89 


Chapter      VII. 


Chapter    VIII. 
Chapter       IX. 


Turning  Failure  into  Success — Watch- 
ing Expert  Methods — Selling  to  Expert 
Buyers— The  Use  of  ' '  Leaders  "—Forc- 
ing the  Buyer's  Attention — Keeping  the 
Customer — It  Pays  to  be  Obliging — "At 
Wholesale  " — Foundation  of  Success — 
Machinery  of  Wholesaling — Responsibili- 
ties of  Buyers — Granting  of  Credit- 
Qualifications  of  Salesmanship — Up-to- 
date  Methods  Needed — Details  of  Daily 
Routine — In  the  Order  Department — 
Filling  and  Shipping  Orders — Work  of 
Other  Departments — The  Young  Man's 
Beginning —  Preparation  for  Business 
Life. 

SELLING  AT  RETAIL Ill 

Securing  Attention — Arousing  Interest — 
Creating  Desire — The  Purchasing  Im- 
pulse— Everyone  a  Prospective — Filling 
Orders  not  Salesmanship. 

PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTIONS  TO  SALESMEN 119 

THE  APPROACH 125 

How  to  Introduce  Yourself — Have  a 
Fixed  Idea — The  First  Interview — Gain 
a  Hearing — How  to  Approach  a  Store- 
keeper—Take in  the  Situation — Prepare 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


11 


Chapter         X. 


Chapter        XI. 


Your  Brief — Getting  at  Him — Don't  be 
Sidetracked — The  First  Five  Minutes — 
Get  His  Attention — Put  Yourself  in  His 
Place — Keep  your  Temper — Say  It 
Quickly — Purpose  of  the  Interview — No 
Imaginary  Demonstration — Don 't  Be 
Too  Blunt — Be  Brief  if  Necessary — 
Have  Definite  Answers  Ready — Make  an 
Appointment — Some  Good  Appeals  for 
a  Demonstration. 

THE   DEMONSTRATION 145 

Know  Your  Goods— Don't  Take  the  De- 
fensive— Be  Polite — Make  Him  Feel  Its 
Importance — Know  His  Business — Aid 
Him  in  Choosing — Size  Your  Man — 
Speak  Deliberately — Convince  Him — 
Be  Natural  and  Sincere — The  First 
Stage— The  Second  Stage— The  Third 
Stage — The  Money-Saving  Feature. 

CLOSING  THE  SALE 157 

Getting  the  Order  Signed — Be  on  the 
Alert— Don't  Talk  Him  Out  of  It- 
Verbal  Agreements  Unbusinesslike — 
Things  to  Remember — Things  to  Avoid. 

GETTING  THE  ORDER  SIGNED 165 

Learning  When  to  Close — The  Closing 
Summary — A  Systematic  Method  Needed 
— Recall  Favorable  Admissions — Acquie- 
scence May  Be  Assumed — Shutting  Off 
Controversy — Enumerate  the  Strong 
Points— The  Push  That  Lands  the  Order 
— " Rushing"  the  Prospect. 

Chapter    XIII.     SALES  ORGANIZATION 179 

Methods  of  Selling  Manufactured  Goods 
—Developing  a  Selling  Force — Training 
of  Salesmen — A  Scientific  Selling  System 
—Salesmen 's  Weekly  Demonstration 
Meetings — Program  of  Salesmen's  Dem- 
onstration Meetings — Creating  the  Sales- 
man's Interest — Handling  Competition — 


Chapter      XII. 


12  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

Salesmen's  Training  Department — Im- 
portance of  the  Instructor — Work  of  the 
Training  School — Keeping  Track  of 
Salesmen — Salesman's  Daily  Report  of 
Sales — The  Prospective  Customer's 
Record — Executive  Reports  from  Selling 
Division. 

Chapter     XIV.    A  MANUFACTURER'S  CAMPAIGN 199 

Locating  a  New  Industry — Determining 
Grade  of  the  Product — Development  of 
Sales  Field — Advertising  Methods — Or- 
ganization of  Sales  Force — Relation  of 
Output  to  Credit. 

Chapter       XV.    THE  TRAINING  OP  AGENTS 209 

No.  1.  Talk  on  -Salesmanship — Over- 
crowded Callings — A  Thing  for  Which 
the  Demand  is  Greater  than  the  Supply 
— How  to  Acquire  Salesmanship — Your 
Personal  Attitude — Dignity  of  the  Work 
— Your  Calling  an  Honorable  One. 
No.  2.  Talk  on  Starting  Work— When  to 
Start — A  Knowledge  Worth  Working 
for— Weather  Conditions— Don 't  Watch 
the  Clock — The  Great  Importance  of  Re- 
ports— The  First  Plunge — Try  It  on  a 
Friend  First. 

No.  3.  Talk  on  Success — Experience  and 
Inexperience — Theory  and  Practice—- 
The Three  Factors  Which  Produce  Suc- 
cess— Master  Your  Proposition — Study 
These  Lessons — Ideas  Are  the  Product  of 
Thought — Preparation  for  the  Canvass — 
Know  What  You  Are  Going  to  Say — 
Adapt  Your  Answers  to  Your  Customers 
—Your  Samples. 

Chapter     XVI.    SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE,  Part  1 223 

General  Instructions — Working  Your 
Territory  —  Initiative  —  Decision  — 
Dispatch  —  Perseverance  —  Master  the 
Proposition — Origin  of  Advertising — 
Early  Attempts — Presentation  of  the 
Proposition — Introductory  Talk. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


IB 


Chapter    XVII. 
Chapter  XVIII. 


Chapter     XIX. 


Chapter      XX. 


Chapter    XXI. 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE,  Part  2 243 

Closing  Arguments — How  to  Answer  All 
Kinds  of  Objections. 

SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE,  Part  3 259 

An  Occasional  Introduction — Make  Your 
Man  Understand — Drive  Your  Points 
Home — Causing  Decision — The  Time  to 
Close — Some  Price  Arguments — Why  We 
Don't  Pay  Freight — Getting  a  Reference 
— A  Good  Argument — Payments — 
"Nerve  Medicine." 

TRAVELING  SALESMEN 277 

Ancient  Travelers  Held  in  Respect- 
Evolution  of  the  Modern  Traveler — Im- 
proved Means  of  Transit — Nineteenth 
Century  Development — Origin  of  the 
"  Bagman" — Was  He  an  Insect-Des- 
troyer?— Changes  Noted  in  England — 
Margins  of  Profit  Reduced — Quality 
Standards  Higher — Buyers  Know  More 
Nowadays — Effects  of  Cooperative  Trad- 
ing— Market  Information  Was  Scarce — 
Travelers7  Information  Welcome — Collec- 
tions by  Travelers — Commercial  Travel- 
ing in  America — Two  Classes  of  Roadmen 
— Division  of  Territory — Systems  of 
Traveling — Compensation  of  Roadmen — 
The  Question  of  Expenses — Selection  of 
Salesmen — Control  of  the  Salesman. 

KEEPING  TRACK  OF  PROSPECTS 303 

The  Card  Index— The  Follow-up  File— 
A  Working  Partner — Sales  Department 
Records — Suggestions  for  Handling  In- 
quiries— "Follow  Ups" — Keeping  up 
Prospect  System — Rules. 

PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP,  Part  1 315 

Confidence  and  Suggestion — The  Basis 
of  Confidence — Securing  the  Customer's 
Interest — The  Use  of  Suggestion — Per- 
suasion an  Important  Weapon — Chang- 
ing a  Sentiment — Mental  Processes — 


14  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

Direct  Appeal — Appeal  to  Emotion- 
Suggestion  in  Retail  Selling — Three  Es- 
sentials of  Persuasion — Elements  of  Sug- 
gestive Salesmanship— Action  in  Sugges- 
tion. 

Chapter  XXII.    PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP,  Part  2 329 

A  Mighty  Motive  Power — Soul  Power  or 
Psychic  Force — Power  Can  be  Cultivated 
—Effect  of  Earnestness — Harmony  with 
Conditions — No  Mental  Reservations- 
Mental  Influence  on  Bodily  Functions — 
Coping  with  Antagonism. 

ChapterXXIII.    SELLING  AN  AGENCY 343 


Chapter  XXIV. 


BUSINESS  SUCCESS,  by  Walter  H.  Cot  ting- 
ham  363 

Opportunities  of  the  Present  Day — The 
Choice  of  a  Career— The  Start— Training 
for  the  Race— Work  to  a  Plan— The 
Value  of  Time — Be  Enterprising — Busi- 
ness Ability  —  System  —  Enthusiasm — 
Character. 

Questions  for  Review . . .  '. 389 


SALESMANSHIP 
THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


INTRODUCTION. 

For  many  centuries  the  art  of  selling  goods  was  re- 
garded as  a  special  quality  inherent  in  certain  men  or 
certain  classes  of  men,  and  transmitted  from  father  to 
son  as  a  hereditary  trait. 

Up  to  within  the  last  few  years  the  word  "salesman- 
ship" was  not  to  be  found  in  dictionaries  of  the  English 
language.  It  was  not  recognized  as  a  distinct  word. 

Modern  salesmanship  is  therefore  a  comparatively  new 
step  in  the  development  of  business.  It  is  variously  de- 
scribed as  a  science  and  an  art,  and  it  truly  partakes  of 
the  character  of  both. 

Salesmanship  is  an  art  because  its  successful  exercise 
implies  the  skill,  dexterity,  and  power  of  performing 
certain  actions,  acquired  by  experience,  study  or  observa- 
tion. If  art  be  defined  as  "a  system  of  rules  serving 
to  facilitate  the  performance  of  certain  actions,"  then 
modern  salesmanship  is  indeed  an  art,  because  it  is  based 
upon  well-defined  principles  and  established  rules,  the 
observance  of  which  facilitate  every  sale. 

The  salesmanship  of  today  is  often  called  scientific 
salesmanship.  As  a  distinctive  branch  of  study,  it  may 
well  be  called  a  science,  because  it  implies  "knowledge, 

15 


16  SALESMANSHIP. 

comprehension  and  understanding  of  the  truths  and 
facts  regarding  the  subject  of  selling  goods." 

It  is  knowledge  of  the  mental  attitudes  of  buyer  and 
seller,  "co-ordinated,  arranged  and  systematized." 

It  answers  to  the  definition  of  a  science  also  because 
it  represents  "art  or  skill  derived  or  resulting  from  pre- 
cepts, principles  or  training." 

Like  every  other  science,  it  is  the  result  of  general 
laws,  and  it  may  be  taught  like  any  other  science. 

Art  is  the  application  of  knowledge  to  practice.  A 
principle  of  science  is  a  rule  in  art.  Science  is  knowl- 
edge; art  is  skill  in  using  it. 

Thus,  modern  salesmanship  being  both  an  art  and  a 
science,  it  may  be  acquired  by  the  study  and  practice 
of  the  principles  and  knowledge  on  which  it  is  based, 
these  being  now  generally  recognized  and  understood. 

Science  embraces  those  branches  of  knowledge  which 
give  a  positive  statement  of  truth,  either  as  founded  in 
the  nature  of  things,  or  established  by  observation  and 
experiment. 

Art  is  that  which  depends  upon  practice  and  skill  in 
performance.  So  we  may  acquire  the  science  of  sales- 
manship or  a  knowledge  and  comprehension  of  its  prin- 
ciples, and  we  practice  the  art  of  salesmanship  when  we 
exercise  our  knowledge  in  actual  business  transactions. 

What  is  Salesmanship? 

A  common  definition  of  salesmanship  is  "the  ability 
to  sell  goods  and  merchandise,"  or  "the  making  of  a  con- 
tract for  the  transfer  of  property,"  but  a  better  defini- 
tion of  modern  salesmanship  is  "the  power  of  selling" 

For  the  scientific  salesman  of  today  must  possess  and 
feel  the  power  to  sell.  This  power  he  acquires  by  knowl- 


SALESMANSHIP.  IT 

edge.  He  must  know  how  to  sell  before  he  can  hope  for 
success. 

How  can  this  knowledge  be  acquired?  The  answer 
is,  first,  by  study  of  the  principles  of  salesmanship  as 
they  are  understood  today.  Second,  by  the  cultivation 
of  the  mind  so  as  to  be  able  to  exercise  the  power  of  the 
will  and  thus  acquire  selling  force;  by  character-build- 
ing; by  conservation  of  the  health;  by  proper  deport- 
ment under  all  circumstances;  by  learning  to  read  the 
customer,  so  as  to  be  able  to  influence  his  mental  atti- 
tude by  suggestion  and  auto-suggestion;  by  a  careful 
study  and  accurate  knowledge  of  the  goods  one  has  to 
sell — in  short,  by  equipping  one's  self  thoroughly  with 
all  possible  knowledge  that  may  affect  a  sale  or  tend  to 
create  the  desire  to  purchase. 

The  modern  salesman  must  know  how  to  approach  a 
customer  and  how  to  secure  a  hearing;  how  to  present 
his  goods  and  make  a  selling  argument  for  them ;  how  to 
answer  objections  and  how  to  close  a  sale;  how  to  handle 
buyers  under  the  varying  conditions  and  circumstances 
of  frequent  or  occasional  intercourse ;  how  to  keep  a  cus- 
tomer and  secure  his  future  trade. 

Most  of  these  things  are  matters  of  knowledge  that 
can  be  acquired  by  study  and  persistence.  Character 
can  be  built  up  by  self -training.  Health  and  deport- 
ment depend  upon  the  individual  himself.  In  fact,  all 
the  essentials  of  modern  salesmanship  are  within  the 
reach  of  any  young  man  who  will  devote  himself  with 
care  and  assiduity  to  their  acquirement. 

Qualifications  of  a  Salesman. 

A  well-known  western  wholesaler  has  summed  up  the 
varied  qualifications  of  a  true  salesman  thus: 

I.B.L.  Vol.  2—2 


18 

"To  be  a  good  salesman  is  not  only  in  itself  a  trade, 
but  an  accomplishment.  A  first-class  salesman  must  not 
only  know  his  goods  and  their  values,  but  must  be  equally 
well  informed  regarding  the  lines  with  which  he  will 
come  in  competition.  He  must  be  able  to  win  and  re- 
tain the  confidence  of  the  men  with  whom  he  transacts 
business.  In  making  sales,  he  must  consider  the  in- 
terests of  both  the  buyer  and  the  seller.  He  must  know 
that  a  sale  which  overstocks  a  customer  or  gives  him 
ground  for  feeling  that  he  has  been  unintentionally 
overcharged,  or  in  any  manner  defrauded,  is  the  most 
unprofitable  sale  that  can  possibly  be  made.  An  ideal 
salesman  is  not  one  who  depends  upon  what  is  vulgarly 
known  as  'the  gift  of  the  gab.'  One  of  the  best  sales- 
men I  ever  knew  was  the  most  quiet  and  least  obtrusive 
in  his  manner.  A  thoroughly  equipped  salesman  must 
have  confidence  in  the  merchandise  he  is  selling,  and  be 
able  to  exert  personal  magnetism.  A  man  who  never 
makes  friends  never  makes  customers." 

Rewards  of  Salesmanship. 

The  rewards  of  successful  salesmanship  were  never 
so  great  as  they  are  at  the  present  time.  Every  man  is  a 
salesman,  more  or  less.  Poor  salesmen  must  be  satisfied 
with  poor  rewards,  but  good  salesmen  command  good 
prices  for  their  services,  and  great  salesmen  are  always 
in  demand  and  receive  great  rewards. 

It  would  be  folly  to  assert  that  every  young  man  can 
make  himself  a  great  salesman.  Every  man  but  a  crip- 
ple can  run,  but  every  man  cannot  become  a  great  run- 
ner. A  course  of  conscientious  training,  however,  will 
improve  any  man's  running  abilities,  and  a  course  of 


SAIJSSMANSHIP.  19 

conscientious  self -training  in  salesmanship  will  improve 
any  man's  selling  ability. 


In  the  chapters  that  follow,  the  principles  of  sales- 
manship on  which  modern  methods  are  based  are  clearly 
described.  Approved  methods  of  selling  goods  are  also 
entered  into  at  length,  and  the  student  of  business  who 
desires  to  pursue  salesmanship  as  his  vocation  in  life 
may  gather  from  these  pages  all  the  essential  knowledge 
he  requires  as  a  sure  foundation  for  success. 


''The  heights  by  great  men  earned  and  kept, 
Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight; 

But  they,  while  their  companions  slept, 
Were  toiling  upward  in  the  night. " 

—Longfellow. 


"There  is  no  easy  road  to  success.  I  thank  God  for  it. 
A  trained  man  will  make  his  life  tell.  Without  training, 
men  are  left  on  a  sea  of  luck,  where  thousands  go  down 
while  one  meets  with  success. " — Garfield. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SELF-TRAINING  IN  SALESMANSHIP. 

From  the  moment  the  young  man  throws  down  his 
gauntlet  in  the  arena  of  business  life  and  challenges  Suc- 
cess, he  becomes  a  salesman.  When  he  applies  for  his 
first  position  he  attempts  to  sell  his  services  and  the 
measure  of  success  which  he  attains  will  depend  very 
largely  on  his  selling  ability.  He  may  never  be  called 
upon  to  sell  actual  commodities,  but  in  every  walk  of  life 
the  successful  man  is  a  good  salesman.  If  he  is  a  doc- 
tor, lawyer,  a  preacher,  a  journalist,  an  accountant,  or 
an  author,  his  purpose  is  to  sell  his  services,  his  skill,  or 
the  product  of  his  knowledge,  in  the  best  market,  and  to 
obtain  the  highest  price  possible.  If  he  is  a  grocer,  a 
dry  goods  man,  or  a  grain  dealer,  his  object  is  to  obtain 
the  highest  going  price  for  his  commodities  and  to  sell  as 
much  of  them  as  possible.  Hence  salesmanship  begins 
at  the  outset  of  every  business  career  and  is  continued  to 
the  end. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  professional  man 
need  know  nothing  about  salesmanship.  Professional 
life  is  chock  full  of  failures  made  by  men  who  have 
neglected  this  important  part  of  their  training,  and 
there  are  many  instances,  sad  to  relate,  of  professional 
wrecks  and  derelicts  who  actually  try  to  pride  themselves 
upon  the  fact  that  they  have  never  striven  to  acquire 
even  the  rudiments  of  salesmanship  or  any  other  branch 
of  business  skill  that  would  fit  them  for  profitable  prac- 
tice of  their  profession. 

21 


22  SELF-TRAINING   IN   SALESMANSHIP. 

Development  of  Selling  Power. 

Salesmanship,  then,  since  it  must  be  practiced  by  all, 
should  be  carefully  studied  by  all.  Some  men  are  be- 
lieved to  have  a  natural  faculty  for  selling  goods  and  are 
called  "born"  salesmen.  But  it  is  a  mistake  to  suppose 
that  the  art  of  salesmanship  cannot  be  acquired  by  self- 
training.  The  power  to  sell  lies  innate  in  the  great  ma- 
jority of  men,  and  can  be  developed  by  training  and  by 
study.  The  faculties  and  methods  brought  into  play 
by  the  "born"  salesman  are  those  that  must  be  culti- 
vated and  developed  by  the  man  who  is  being  trained  or 
is  training  himself  in  salesmanship.  The  whole  struc- 
ture is  based  upon  individual  character,  and  the  man 
who  would  succeed  as  a  salesman  must  cultivate  the 
qualities  upon  which  success  depends. 

If  one  is  lacking  in  the  characteristics  of  a  successful 
salesman  he  must  so  build  up  his  character  by  study  and 
constant  watchfulness  of  himself  as  to  acquire  the  quali- 
ties he  lacks.  The  business  character  of  a  man  can  be 
built  up  as  surely  as  a  house  can  be  erected  upon  its 
foundation.  Man,  in  the  aggregate,  is  the  noblest  work 
of  God,  but  some  very  poor  specimens  of  manhood  take 
refuge  behind  that  statement  and  arrogate  to  themselves 
an  ability  which  they  are  far  from  possessing.  Man  is 
born  with  the  elements  of  a  noble  character,  but  each  in- 
dividual man  must  work  out  his  own  perfection. 

Essentials  of  Salesmanship. 

Successful  salesmanship  is  in  brief  the  ability  to 
awaken  in  the  mind  of  another  first,  a  desire,  and  then  a 
determination,  to  buy  what  the  salesman  has  to  sell.  In 
order  to  be  able  to  do  this  successfully  the  mind  of  the 
salesman  himself  must  be  properly  cultivated ;  his  intel- 


•ELF-TttAINING   IN    SALESMANSHIP.  28 

lect  must  be  developed,  and  he  must  know  how  to  act 
upon  the  sensibilities  of  his  subject — the  customer — and 
direct  the  will  of  the  latter  to  the  desired  end. 

All  branches  of  human  knowledge  may  be  drawn  upon 
in  the  cultivation  of  the  mind.  A  store  of  general  in- 
formation about  men  and  affairs  is  a  very  desirable  busi- 
ness asset.  A  salesman  cannot  learn  or  know  too  much 
—first,  about  the  goods  or  services  it  is  his  business  to 
sell;  second,  about  business  as  a  whole,  and  third,  about 
human  affairs-  in  general. 

The  small  amount  of  general  information  with  which 
many  persons  manage  to  crawl  through  the  world  is  most 
surprising.  From  the  day  when  as  a  child  their  par- 
ents, it  may  be,  stifled  their  childish  desire  for  knowledge 
by  discouraging  their  constant  questions,  they  seem  to 
have  lost  interest  in  all  but  their  own  petty  affairs,  and 
care  little  or  nothing  about  keeping  informed  as  to  cur- 
rent events  or  the  progress  of  the  great,  busy  world  about 
them.  Their  conversation  is  dull  and  uninteresting; 
they  lack  ideas  because  their  brain  lacks  exercise;  their 
vocabulary  limits  itself  to  the  few  hundred  words  with 
which  they  can  most  easily  express  their  daily  physical 
wants  and  desires ;  they  become  selfish  and  often  morose, 
and  slowly  but  surely  lose  the  power  of  influencing  their 
fellow-men  in  any  direction. 

General  Knowledge  Desirable. 

This  lack  of  general  knowledge  in  business  is  far  more 
widespread  than  is  usually  believed.  The  untrained 
clerk  in  a  railroad  office  is  often  unable  to  tell  offhand  the 
name  of  the  general  passenger  agent  of  his  road,  even 
though  that  name  may  be  familiar  to  millions  of  the  trav- 
eling public.  The  so-called  salesman  who  waits  on  you 


24  SELF-TRAINING   IN   SALESMANSHIP. 

may  be  absolutely  unable  to  tell  you  anything  about  the 
materials  or  the  process  of  manufacture  of  the  goods  he 
is  selling,  and  if  you  ask  him  the  geographical  location  of 
the  Central  American  Republic  whose  president  was  as- 
sassinated the  day  before  yesterday  the  best  he  can  do  is 
to  mumble  something  about  its  being  "way  down  South." 

To  be  a  successful  salesman  it  is  not  necessary  that  one 
should  be  a  walking  cyclopedia,  but  it  is  desirable  that 
one  should  possess  a  good  fund  of  general  knowledge, 
such  as  can  be  acquired  without  loss  of  time  by  any 
broad-minded  person  who  will  interest  himself  in  the 
events  that  occur  beyond  his  own.  immediate  sphere  of 
action. 

Men  are  often  "sized  up"  by  the  character  of  their  con- 
versation. It  has  been  said,  and  with  some  truth,  that 
most  persons  fall  into  one  of  three  classes :  first-class  peo- 
ple, who  meditate  upon  and  discuss  ideas;  second-class 
people,  who  talk  about  persons;  and  third-class  people, 
whose  talk  is  of  things.  In  this  category  the  gossip  and 
the  backbiter  occupy  a  rather  undeserved  second-class 
position. 

Training  the  Senses. 

The  normal  tendency  of  the  average  human  mind  is  to 
grasp  a  thing  or  an  object  before  concerning  itself  with 
any  ideas  regarding  the  same.  Thus,  by  our  senses  we 
perceive  a  book  or  a  pair  of  shoes  before  we  formulate 
any  definite  ideas  concerning  them.  It  therefore  be- 
comes necessary  to  train  the  senses  so  as  to  develop  ideas 
regarding  the  things  perceived  by  them. 

A  broad  field  of  study  and  self -training  is  here  opened. 
The  novice  in  salesmanship  must  learn  that  it  is  neces- 
sary to  sow  the  seed  before  one  can  hope  to  reap  a  harvest 


SELF-TRAINING  IN    SALESMANSHIP.  25 

of  success;  he  must  learn  to  exercise  judgment  and  rea- 
son in  business  affairs.  Judgment  should  be  formed  by 
reason.  The  two  are  by  no  means  synonymous.  Any 
man  confronted  with  a  question  of  business  policy  may 
arrive  at  a  totally  different  judgment  upon  it  from  an- 
other to  whom  the  same  question  is  presented  in  precisely 
the  same  way. 

Judgment  is  often  based  upon  experience.  It  must 
be  trained  by  frequent  exercise.  If  the  judgment  has 
been  exercised  aright,  under  a  given  set  of  conditions,  it 
will  repeat  itself  when  the  same  conditions  recur,  thus 
having  the  benefit  of  experience. 

Reason  in  business  affairs,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the 
mental  process  by  which  one  arrives  at  judgment.  It 
may  have  for  its  basis  the  ordinary  steps  of  logic,  or  the 
experience  of  other  persons  in  like  conditions,  this  ex- 
perience being  gained  by  study.  The  mental  processes 
used  in  gaining  knowledge  of  business  affairs  are  alike 
in  all  men;  hence,  by  studying  these  processes  in  our- 
selves we  may  learn  to  know  and  to  read  the  thoughts  of 
others,  or  at  any  rate  their  probable  thoughts,  which  will 
hit  the  mark  in  most  cases.  It  niust  be  understood  that 
there  is  both  conscious  and  subconscious  reasoning  by  the 
human  mind  and  that  both  kinds  of  reasoning  are 
factors  in  the  final  judgment. 

Exercise  of  Judgment. 

The  rapid  judgment  of  men  experienced  in  affairs  is 
frequently  a  source  of  wonder  to  their  associates, 
especially  when,  as  in  innumerable  cases,  their  judgment 
is  as  accurate  as  it  is  quick.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  such 
rapidity  and  accuracy  of  judgment  is  the  result  mainly 
of  ripe  experience.  A  similar  set  of  conditions  that  has 


26  SELF-TRAINING  IN   SALESMANSHIP. 

occurred  in  the  past  arises  in  the  mind  of  the  man  whose 
judgment  is  required  and  he  is  able  to  make  a  rapid  sur- 
vey of  the  results  of  the  former  experience  and  to  base 
his  judgment  in  the  new  case  thereupon,  with  consider- 
able confidence  in  the  result. 

But  quick  judgment  is  not  always  to  be  desired.  De- 
liberation is  usually  advisable  in  business  affairs,  and  a 
deliberate  habit  of  thought  is  probably  the  safest.  Pru- 
dence may  be  combined  with  quickness  of  thought,  but 
errors  in  judgment  are  less  likely  to  be  made  where  there 
is  mental  deliberation  combined  with  prudence,  savored 
with  the  imagination  that  leads  one  to  recognize  a  good 
thing  even  if  it  be  new. 

Too  much  stress  can  hardly  be  laid  upon  the  value 
of  good  judgment  in  business  and  the  necessity  of  culti- 
vating it.  Every  business  man  can  recall  errors  of  judg- 
ment which  have  resulted  expensively  for  him  and  hence 
he  desires  to  train  his  judgment  aright. 

Combating  Evil  Passions. 

In  self-training  there  are  many  foes  of  reason  to  be 
combated.  Prejudice  must  be  striven  against  at  all 
times.  Temper  must  be  subdued.  Undue  haste  must  be 
avoided.  In  fact,  the  man  who  is  seeking  to  reconstruct 
or  remodel  his  character  so  as  to  increase  his  selling 
ability  and  make  himself  more  of  a  man — fit  to  call  him- 
self the  "noblest  work" — must  be  constantly  on  his  guard 
against  giving  way  to  any  of  the  evil  passions,  especially 
in  his  conversation  with  the  customer,  upon  which  his 
sales  largely  depend.  He  must  avoid  all  evil  speaking 
of  his  competitor  or  his  competitor's  goods,  and  to  avoid 
such  evil  speaking  he  should  endeavor  to  avoid  the  evil 
thought  of  which  it  is  the  expression.  Stifle  the 


SELF-TRAINING  IN   SALESMANSHIP.  27 

thought  and  its  expression  will  cease.  If  you  try  to  as- 
sume the  mental  attitude  of  the  customer  you  will  soon 
realize  that  you  cannot  sell  him  your  own  goods  by 
running  down  the  goods  of  another.  It  is  better  to 
build  than  to  wreck. 

Why  Knowledge  is  Necessary. 

The  novice  may  ask,  "Why  is  it  necessary  to  store  up 
a  fund  of  general  knowledge  in  order  to  sell  goods? 
Why  should  I  burden  my  mind  with  information  about 
a  lot  of  things  that  do  not  directly  concern  the  business 
in  hand?" 

The  answer  is  that  the  customer  sizes  up  the  salesman 
just  as  the  salesman  sizes  up  the  customer.  He  wants 
to  know  what  kind  of  man  he  is  doing  business  with, 
and  a  lack  of  general  information,  if  betrayed  by  the 
salesman,  is  very  likely  to  interfere  with  the  sale.  It 
lessens  the  influence  of  the  salesman,  sometimes  to  the 
point  of  destroying  his  selling  ability. 

Business  men  of  quick  judgment  size  up  a  salesman 
almost  at  a  glance  and  will  waste  little  time  upon  a  man 
whose  knowledge  of  affairs  is  evidently  limited  and 
whose  conversation  is  flat,  stale  and  unprofitable.  Hence 
the  salesman  should  by  all  means  strengthen  and  increase 
his  capacity  for  knowledge.  He  should  carefully  train 
his  memory  and  thus  enable  himself  to  add  to  his  store 
of  knowledge  and  to  pigeonhole  facts  and  figures  in  his 
mind  for  subsequent  use. 

Concentration. 

Another  important  direction  for  self-training  is  in 
concentration  of  the  mental  powers.  The  salesman 
should  acquire  the  habit  of  concentration  so  that  he  may 


28  SELF-TRAINING  IN   SALESMANSHIP. 

be  able  to  devote  his  undivided  attention  to  the  affair  in 
hand,  and  thus  aid  reason  and  judgment.  To  be  able 
to  concentrate  all  one's  powers  and  faculties  upon  a 
given  subject  is  very  largely  a  matter  of  training.  It 
adds  force  to  argument  and  aids  greatly  in  impressing 
the  mind  of  another.  The  man  of  discursive  speech, 
who  finds  it  difficult  to  confine  his  own  attention  and 
thought  to  one  thing  at  a  time,  will  have  difficulty  in 
arresting  and  holding  the  attention  of  a  customer  upon 
the  particular  point  which  he  is  trying  to  impress  upon 
him. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  character  of  an  ideal 
salesman  must  be  the  composite  result  of  training  along 
many  lines.  The  more  thorough  the  self -training,  the 
better  the  result  will  be. 

Imagination  a  Valuable  Asset. 

One  of  the  factors  of  ideal  success  is  the  possession  of 
an  active  imagination.  Ambition  and  effort  are  stimu- 
lated by  imagination,  which  has  truly  been  called  "the 
great  spring  of  human  activity."  One  of  the  greatest 
warriors  in  history  went  so  far  as  to  assert  that  the  world 
is  ruled  by  imagination.  The  man  without  imagination 
is  poor  indeed. 

The  visions  of  ultimate  success  and  of  eminence  in 
business  life  indulged  in  by  salesmen  and  merchants 
stimulate  them  to  greater  effort,  keep  up  their  courage, 
help  them  to  endure — and  all  such  visions  spring  from 
the  imagination.  Powers  of  imagination  have  brought 
about  the  world's  greatest  inventions;  have  led  to  the 
great  improvements-  in  manufacture;  have  created  the 
greatest  enterprises  of  commercial  life. 

Imagination  is  therefore  a  valuable  asset  to  a  salesman. 


SELF-TRAINING   IN    SALESMANSHIP.  2& 

It  should  be  developed  by  free  use  and  exercise.  An 
imaginative  man  is  not  necessarily  a  dreamer  only.  The 
world's  most  active  and  energetic  men  give  full  play  to 
their  imagination  and  it  helps  them  to  success. 

Power  of  the  Will. 

In  salesmanship  the  power  of  the  human  will  is  con- 
stantly exercised.  Business  transactions  often  resolve 
themselves  into  a  battle  of  one  will  against  another.  The 
will  may  be  strengthened,  like  a  muscle,  by  exercise;  but 
it  must  be  exercised  in  the  right  direction;  the  exercise 
must  be  based  upon  reason  and  good  judgment. 

There  is  a  vast  difference  between  a  strong  will  and  a 
stubborn  will.  Stubbornness  may  be  regarded  as  a  dis- 
ease of  the  will,  just  as  the  over-development  of  a  single 
part  of  the  human  body  is  rightly  regarded  as  a  blemish, 
if  not  as  a  disease.  It  is  often  profitable  to  strengthen 
one's  will  by  combating  the  will  power  of  others,  but 
such  a  process  should  be  accompanied  by  consideration 
for  the  other  fellow,  whom  it  is  desired  to  influence. 
Square  dealing  is  always  a  good  investment. 

Originality  and  Initiative. 

Among  the  men  who  succeed  in  the  present  day  there 
are  many  whose  strongest  characteristic  is  their  original- 
ity and  power  of  initiative.  Having  built  up  a  strong 
character  and  having  confidence  in  themselves,  they  are 
not  afraid  to  act  upon  their  own  judgment  and  responsi- 
bility. They  are  willing  to  do  things  first,  without  wait- 
ing to  see  what  the  effect  of  similar  action  is  in  other 
cases.  They  stand  ready  to  seize  every  opportunity. 
They  are  ready  to  inaugurate  things  without  waiting 
for  others  to  lead;  they  become  leaders  of  men. 


80  SELF-TRAINING   IN   SALESMANSHIP. 

The  faculty  of  initiative  is  indeed  a  valuable  asset. 
Its  exercise  betokens  courage  and  self-confidence,  and 
like  all  the  faculties  it  can  be  developed  by  training. 

Steps  in  Self -Training. 

In  self-training  for  successful  salesmanship,  the  vari- 
ous steps  required  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

1.  Character-building — making  a  new  man  for  a 

definite  purpose. 

2.  Cultivating  the  mind  and  the  intellect. 

3.  Storing  up  general  knowledge. 

4.  Training  the  senses  and  promoting  thought. 

5.  Learning  to  reason  and  to  exercise  judgment. 

6.  Learning  to  read  the  customer. 

7.  Learning  to  use  deliberation  and  prudence. 

8.  Learning   to   avoid   prejudice,   temper,   undue 

haste  and  all  evil  passions. 

9.  Improving  the  capacity  for  knowledge. 

10.  Training  the  memory. 

11.  Developing  the  imagination  and  so  stimulating 

effort. 

12.  Exercising  the  power  of  the  will. 

13.  Developing  originality  and  initiative. 

Looking  over  this  list  most  men,  young  or  old,  will 
recognize  points  wherein  they  are  lacking.  These  are 
the  points  to  which  special  attention  and  study  should 
be  given,  so  as  to  supply  the  deficiency,  remove  the  de- 
fects, and  acquire  or  strengthen  all  desirable  qualities 
for  successful  salesmanship. 


CHAPTER  II. 
PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

If  we  understand  by  salesmanship  "the  power  of  sell- 
ing/' we  see  at  once  that  the  character  and  personality 
of  the  salesman  have  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  matter. 

You  must  be  able  to  attract  and  hold  the  attention  of 
the  prospective  customer,  and  to  obtain  his  confidence; 
but  this  is  only  one  of  the  steps  required  in  making  a  sale. 

Scientific  salesmanship  notes  at  least  half  a  dozen  dis- 
tinct steps  in  every  sale,  these  following  each  other  in  the 
following  order: 

1.  Finding  the  prospective  customer,  or  as  he  is  us- 
ually called  for  short,  the  "prospect." 

2.  Self -preparation  for  making  the  sale;  this  must 
precede  the  approach. 

3.  The  actual  approach,  or  the  means  employed  to 
gain  the  attention  of  the  prospect. 

4.  The  description  of  the  goods,  often  called  the 
demonstration. 

5.  The  convincing  argument. 

6.  Closing  the  sale — securing  the  contract  or  taking 
the  order. 

While  these  six  steps  are  necessarily  taken  in  the 
course  of  every  sale,  the  manner  in  which  the  various 
stages  are  passed  through  necessarily  varies  with  the 
character  of  the  sale. 

Given  the  three  principal  elements  of  a  sale — namely, 
the  salesman,  goods,  and  buyer — and  the  number  of  com- 
binations that  can  be  formed  from  these  elements  is  un- 

31 


32  PRINCIPLES  OF   SALESMANSHIP. 

limited.  Thus  the  methods  that  prove  successful  in  sell- 
ing one  class  of  goods  may  not  exactly  suit  the  case  of 
other  goods. 

But  there  are  certain  principles  that  apply  to  all  sales 
— to  all  classes  of  goods,  and  it  is  with  these  rather  than 
with  specific  methods  employed  by  modern  salesmen, 
that  we  shall  deal  at  present. 

Finding  the  " Prospect." 

In  some  way  or  other,  every  customer  must  be  found. 
This  is  accomplished  in  various  ways. 

Regular  trade  buyers  of  regular  lines  are  perhaps  the 
easiest  found  of  all  prospective  customers,  having  a 
place  of  business  where  they  await  the  coming  of  the 
salesman,  whom  it  is  a  part  of  their  business  to  see  and 
to  hear. 

Prospects  for  specialties,  or  insurance,  or  advertising, 
are  found  by  different  means.  Every  business  house  has 
its  own  methods  of  securing  prospects  for  the  benefit  of 
its  salesmen. 

A  good  salesman  is  ever  on  the  lookout  for  pros- 
pective customers  on  his  own  account.  A  hint  or  sug- 
gestion dropped  in  casual  conversation  with  other  sales- 
men, for  example,  fastens  itself  in  his  memory  as  if  it 
were  pinned  there,  and  soon  develops  into  a  "prospect." 
There  are  a  thousand  and  one  different  ways  of  obtain- 
ing names  of  prospective  buyers. 

Some  salesmen  regard  every  man  to  whom  they  are 
talking  as  a  prospective  customer  for  what  they  have  to 
sell — and  this  is  often  regarded  as  a  high  development 
of  the  art  of  salesmanship — but  it  can  easily  be  carried 
too  far  and  sometimes  to  the  point  of  embarrassment  for 
both  the  salesman  and  his  supposed  prospecv 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  33 

In  finding  the  customer,  just  as  in  all  other  branches 
of  the  selling  art,  there  must  be  a  constant  exercise  of 
judgment.  Hence  the  judgment  of  the  salesman 
should  be  trained  to  this  end. 

Prospects  are  secured  by  advertising  campaigns,  as 
well  as  by  personal  canvass ;  by  the  use  of  trade  lists,  di- 
rectories, gazetteers,  trade  and  class  journals,  and  in  va- 
rious other  ways  peculiar  to  every  line  of  business. 

The  main  point  is  to  secure  "prospects"  of  the  right 
kind — those  in  whom  the  desire  to  purchase  the  article 
which  the  salesman  has  for  sale  can  be  created,  and  who 
have  such  use  for  the  article  that  its  purchase  will  leave 
them  satisfied,  ready  to  pay  for  the  goods,  and  mayhap 
to  order  more. 

Preliminary  Preparation. 

Before  attempting  to  approach  a  prospect,  the  sales- 
man must  carefully  gather  all  possible  information  he 
can  obtain  regarding  the  prospective  customer,  or  that 
is  likely  to  affect  the  sale.  This  preliminary  information, 
is  frequently  furnished  to  a  salesman,  especially  by  large 
houses  that  maintain  a  Sales  Department  with  a  special 
subdivision  for  this  purpose. 

No  prospect  should  be  approached  until  the  salesman 
is  thoroughly  informed  as  to  his  exact  name,  the  nature 
of  his  business,  etc.  In  fact,  one  cannot  have  too  much 
information  of  this  kind  at  hand,  ready  to  use  when  the 
occasion  demands. 

It  is  recognized  in  the  selling  profession  nowadays 
that  the  steps  leading  to  a  sale  include  four  conditions  in 
the  customer's  mind,  or  four  separate  mental  attitudes: 
namely,  Attention,  Interest,  Desire  and  Decision. 

In  order  successfully  to  arouse  these  four  sentiments, 
it  is  usually  necessary  to  have  at  least  some  information 

T.B.L.   Vol.  2—3 


84  PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

about  the  prospect  that  will  aid  in  securing  his  atten- 
tion and  awakening  his  interest.  This  must  be  obtained 
in  advance,  and  it  can  be  laid  down  as  an  absolute  rule 
that  no  prospect  should  be  approached  off-hand,  with- 
out some  such  preparation  by  the  salesman. 

The  Approach. 

Then  comes  the  actual  approach.  The  first  thing  to 
do,  of  course,  is  to  gain  access  to  the  customer.  This 
is  not  always  easy,  by  any  means.  Young  men 
especially  often  find  it  extremely  difficult  to  gain  access 
to  prospective  customers,  especially  when  their  personal- 
itly  is  undeveloped  and  they  betray  a  lack  of  confidence 
in  making  the  approach. 

When  difficulty  in  seeing  a  prospect  is  anticipated, 
the  salesman  should  carefully  plan  his  method  of  attack, 
in  order  to  pass  the  barriers  and  gain  access  to  his  man. 
Here  we  find  great  diversity  in  the  methods  employed 
by  different  salesmen. 

Much  depends  upon  the  way  in  which  the  salesman 
states  his  business  to  the  subordinate  who  asks  what  it 
is  or  seeks  to  bar  his  entrance,  as  frequently  happens  in 
the  outer  precincts  of  large  and  busy  offices  or  stores. 

The  proper  tone  of  voice,  a  little  emphasis  judiciously 
used — even  sometimes  a  slight  air  of  mystery — will  se- 
cure the  end  desired.  Often  it  is  the  case  that  more  de- 
pends upon  the  way  in  which  the  request  for  an  inter- 
view is  made  than  upon  the  actual  words  used. 

There  are  two  ways  of  conducting  oneself  upon  en- 
tering a  store  or  office.  One  is  the  hesitating,  uncertain 
way,  which  promptly  conveys  the  impression  that  the 
salesman  lacks  confidence,  either  in  himself,  or  in  his 
goods,  or  in  the  firm  he  represents ;  and  this  is  often  com- 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  35 

municated  to  the  veriest  tyro  of  an  office  boy,  while  it 
is  of  course  promptly  recognized  by  an  experienced  gate- 
keeper or  a  capable  private  secretary. 

The  other  method  of  approach  is  with  a  sure,  firm  step 
and  a  general  air  of  alertness  that  betokens  the  confi- 
dence of  the  salesman,  both  in  himself  and  in  the  ulti- 
mate success  of  his  mission. 

This  attitude  commands  respect  and  bears  down  op- 
position. It  signifies  that  you  have  an  object  in  asking 
the  interview  that  is  worth  while  both  for  yourself  and 
for  the  person  you  seek  to  approach. 

The  salesman  who  carries  himself  like  a  schoolboy  will 
be  treated  like  a  schoolboy,  and  may  expect  to  fail  in 
making  the  desired  approach. 

The  man  who,  on  the  other  hand,  wears  an  air  of  busi- 
ness and  conducts  himself  generally  as  if  his  business 
merits  attention,  will  seldom  fail  to  receive  courteous  at- 
tention. 

Gaining  Attention. 

But  getting  past  the  outer  gate  and  obtaining  access 
to  the  prospect  is,  after  all,  only  a  part — though  an  im- 
portant part — of  the  actual  approach.  The  approach 
also  includes  gaining  the  attention  of  the  prospect  after 
reaching  his  presence. 

First  of  all  comes  the  preliminary  greeting — and 
much  may  depend  upon  this.  First  impressions  are  us- 
ually strong  and  lasting  ones.  There  are  ways  of  say- 
ing "Good  morning"  that  will  repel,  as  well  as  ways  that 
will  please. 

The  tone  of  voice,  the  degree  of  heartiness,  and  if  a 
handshake  forms  part  of  the  greeting,  the  degree  of 
warmth  or  coldness  of  the  shake — even  the  temperature 


36  PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

of  the  hand — all   have   their  effect  upon   the   person 
greeted. 

If  the  person  is  a  total  stranger,  the  greeting  should, 
of  course,  be  respectful,  but  in  no  way  servile;  it  should 
be  hearty  without  undue  warmth  or  effusiveness;  and 
should,  if  possible,  convey  the  idea  that  the  caller  is  a 
man  of  business  bent  upon  an  errand  of  which  he  is 
proud  and  which  gives  him  confidence  to  meet  the  cus- 
tomer like  a  man. 

"Sizing  Him  Up." 

Business  men  and  buyers  who  meet  many  salesmen  in 
the  course  of  a  day  or  a  week,  learn  to  "size  up"  a  new 
comer  with  almost  unerring  exactitude.  Experience 
makes  them  equally  wary  of  the  very  effusive  person 
and  the  salesman  with  the  cold,  perfunctory  handshake 
and  greeting. 

The  one  reflects  upon  their  intelligence;  the  other 
arouses  instant  antagonism. 

Much  may  be  accomplished  by  the  salesman  in  the 
first  moments  of  his  interview.  Each  party  is  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously  forming  an  estimate  of  the 
other,  "sizing  him  up,"  as  the  phrase  goes,  and  each  reg- 
isters an  impression  of  the  other  for  future  use. 

The  salesman  whose  method  of  approach  makes  a  fa- 
vorable impression  upon  the  prospect  has  gained  a  de- 
cided step  in  advance.  He  may  not  know,  and  if  he 
is  a  novice  he  will  forget  to  care,  just  what  impression 
he  has  made,  but  an  experienced  salesman  knows  the 
value  of  the  first  impression. 

He  knows  that  if  he  has  succeeded  thus  far,  the  sub- 
sequent steps  will  be  like  dropping  the  seed  into  a  pre- 
pared ground,  with  all  the  prospects  favorable  for  a 
good  harvest. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  37 

If  the  first  impression  is  unfavorable  to  the  salesman, 
even  though  he  is  not  altogether  to  blame  for  it,  his 
subsequent  work  will  be  all  the  harder.  He  will  have 
to  remove  the  first  impression  and  counteract  its  effects 
by  the  skillf  ulness  of  his  subsequent  presentation  or  dem- 
onstration of  his  goods  or  selling  proposition. 

Much,  therefore,  depends  upon  the  character  of  the 
approach,  and  it  is  a  feature  of  salesmanship  well  worth 
study. 

If  the  attention  of  the  customer  is  gained  right  off 
the  reel,  in  the  very  first  stage  of  the  interview,  the  rest 
will  be  easier.  If  not,  the  succeeding  steps  may  be  in- 
deed uphill  work. 

The  Demonstration. 

Once  the  attention  of  the  prospective  customer  is 
gained,  the  "demonstration"  follows  in  its  natural  se- 
quence. This  is  the  description  and  explanation  of  the 
goods  or  the  proposition  to  be  presented,  and  it  must  be 
carefully  done  because  the  object  is  threefold:  First, 
to  secure  the  confidence  of  the  buyer;  second,  to  awaken 
his  interest,  and  third,  to  create  desire,  which  when  aided 
by  a  convincing  argument  on  the  part  of  the  salesman 
will  result  in  closing  the  sale. 

In  order  to  describe  and  explain  the  goods  to  the  best 
advantage,  the  salesman  must  be  thoroughly  familiar 
with  them.  It  stands  to  reason  that  he  must  know  more 
about  the  goods  than  the  customer  can  see  at  a  glance. 
Unless  he  is  selling  a  regular  line,  with  which  the  buyer  is 
familiar,  the  salesman  must,  in  as  few  words  as  possible, 
present  the  advantages  of  the  goods,  the  article,  specialty 
or  proposition,  in  such  a  way  as  to  arouse  interest  and 


38  PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

lead  the  prospect  steadily  toward  the  next  important 
step,  namely,  Desire. 

In  presenting  your  own  goods,  it  is  best  not  to  run 
down  the  goods  of  a  competitor.  In  fact,  it  is  well,  if 
possible,  to  avoid  discussing  competing  goods.  Should 
the  customer  get  in  a  remark  favorable  to  competing 
goods,  do  not  let  his  mind  dwell  upon  it,  and  above  all  do 
not  antagonize  him  on  any  such  point,  but  proceed  to 
show  to  the  best  of  your  ability  the  superior  points  and 
advantages  of  your  own  goods. 

The  Selling  Talk. 

Most  articles  and  business  propositions  requiring  the 
services  of  a  salesman  possess  some  particular  point  of 
advantage  or  superiority  which  is  called  the  "talking 
point."  Sometimes  there  are  several  such  talking 
points. 

When  the  salesman  is  thoroughly  equipped  in  advance 
with  information  as  to  these  points,  he  can  dwell  upon 
them  understandingly,  forcibly,  and  even  enthusias- 
tically in  presenting  and  demonstrating  his  proposition. 

Here  it  may  be  said  that  the  selling  talk  should  always 
be  planned  in  advance.  In  special  cases  it  is  often  neces- 
sary to  depart  from  the  regular  plan  of  attack.  Many 
men  of  many  minds  are  met  with  in  the  course  of  a  week's 
work,  and  all  cannot  be  handled  alike,  but  it  is  best  to  be 
prepared  with  a  sales  talk  that  will  fit  the  majority  of 
cases.  Experience  will  soon  show  to  what  percentage  of 
the  prospects  encountered  this  regular  selling  talk  will 
appeal. 

Very  often  the  selling  talk  is  arranged  in  advance  for 
the  salesman  by  a  sales  manager.  Some  salesmen,  it  is 
true,  rebel  at  the  idea  of  using  a  line  of  conversation  and 


PRINCIPLES  OF   SALESMANSHIP.  39 

argument  formulated  for  them  by  another.  They  pre- 
fer to  use  their  own  individual  methods  and  to  handle 
each  prospect  in  the  manner  that  suggests  itself  to  them 
on  the  spur  of  the  moment  of  meeting  as  the  best  suited 
to  the  case.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  a  prepared 
selling  talk  is  the  result  of  the  experience  of  the  sales 
manager  gathered  in  numerous  actual  cases  of  personal 
contact  with  buyers  and  also  from  the  reports  and  ex- 
perience of  many  other  salesmen  presenting  the  same  or 
similar  goods. 

Hence,  when  a  regular  selling  talk  or  "canvass"  is  pre- 
scribed for  the  use  of  its  salesmen  by  any  selling  concern 
it  is  entitled  to  respect  and  also  to  a  fair  trial  by  the  new 
salesman  before  he  replaces  it  by  methods  of  his  own, 
based,  it  may  be,  on  a  limited  experience  gained  in  sell- 
ing another  line  of  goods,  or  a  totally  different  proposi- 
tion. 

Sales  managers  want  to  make  a  showing,  and  in  order 
to  make  a  showing  they  want  the  men  under  them  to 
effect  sales. 

Only  results  count! 

It  is  orders  that  every  house  requires. 

Hence,  no  sales  manager  would  send  out  a  salesman 
into  the  field  with  instructions  to  use  a  certain  line  of 
sales  talk  unless  experience  had  shown  that  that  particu- 
lar presentation  of  the  goods  would  bring  results  in  the 
shape  of  orders. 

A  new  salesman,  therefore,  should  always  give  the 
fullest  possible  trial  to  the  selling  talk  prescribed  for  his 
use.  His  own  personal  experience  in  the  presence  of 
prospects  may  soon  show  him  weak  points  in  the  selling 
talk.  If  so,  he  can  change  his  presentation  of  the  goods 
in  accordance  with  his  own  ideas  of  a  better  method,  and 


40  PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

in  such  cases  it  is  his  privilege  to  point  out  desirable 
changes  to  his  sales  manager,  who,  if  he  is  built  on  the 
right  lines,  will  thank  the  salesman  for  this  demonstra- 
tion of  loyalty  to  the  interests  of  the  house. 

The  Convincing  Argument. 

The  main  object  of  the  salesman  in  presenting  the 
goods  is  to  create  interest  and  convince  the  customer  that 
what  he  needs  is  what  the  salesman  has  to  sell.  The  pre- 
cise advantage  of  the  article,  goods  or  proposition  must, 
therefore,  be  made  clear,  and  the  prospect  must  be  shown 
that  he  needs  the  goods  in  his  business  and  that  it  is  to  his 
benefit  to  buy  them. 

In  other  words,  the  customer  must  be  convinced  that 
the  goods  offered  him  will  be  profitable  to  him  in  some 
way,  either  by  bringing  new  business,  by  reselling  at  a 
profit,  by  saving  time  or  labor  or  money,  or  by  making 
it  to  his  advantage  in  some  other  way  to  buy  the  particu- 
lar goods  or  to  accept  the  particular  proposition  offered 
by  the  salesman. 

The  selling  argument  must,  therefore,  be  carefully 
planned  and  considered. 

The  preliminary  presentation  and  demonstration  of 
the  goods  must  show  the  superior  features  and  advan- 
tages of  the  goods  offered  by  the  salesman  over  similar 
goods  of  other  makes,  or  competing  articles,  or  proposi- 
tions of  a  like  nature  offered  by  other  houses,  but  the 
argument  itself  must  be  so  constructed  as  to  carry  con- 
viction to  the  customer's  mind  and  cause  him  to  desire  the 
particular  goods  offered  by  the  salesman  as  best  suited  to 
his  needs. 

The  description  of  the  goods  should  be  as  clear  and 
plain  as  possible,  avoiding  technicalities  not  readily  com- 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  41 

prehended  by  the  customer;  in  the  case  of  a  new  cus- 
tomer always  making  allowance  for  the  fact  that  the 
mind  of  the  customer  when  approached  is  a  blank  on  the 
subject. 

The  salesman  must  take  nothing  for  granted. 

If  the  customer  has  had  no  means  of  learning  the 
merits  of  the  goods,  it  is  the  business  of  the  salesman  to 
point  them  out  and  to  cover  the  ground  as  rapidly  and 
succinctly  as  possible. 

Knowing  when  to  stop  is  a  very  important  considera- 
tion in  making  the  argument. 

Many  sales  are  lost  every  day  because  the  salesman 
does  not  know  when  to  stop  talking. 

Meritorious  goods  and  worthy  propositions,  when  pre- 
sented in  a  plain  business-like  way,  are  usually  the  sub- 
ject of  intelligent  questions  on  the  part  of  the  customer, 
and  such  questioning  must  be  encouraged  rather  than 
avoided,  especially  when  the  customer  shows  an  active 
interest  in  the  goods. 

If  questions  are  asked  the  salesman  has  an  opportunity 
to  meet  and  answer  objections,  to  make  rebuttal,  and 
thus  stimulate  interest  and  increase  the  customer's  desire 
to  obtain  the  goods. 

This  argumentative  stage  of  the  sale  is  a  very  impor- 
tant one,  and  the  well-equipped  modern  salesman  is  al- 
ways prepared  with  a  conclusive  answer  to  all  the  objec- 
tions he  is  likely  to  encounter  in  the  argument  preceding 
the  closing  of  a  sale. 

Closing  the  Sale. 

It  must  be  remembered  that,  in  the  great  majority  of 
cases,  no  sale  is  closed  until  the  order  is  signed. 

The  various  steps  in  selling  all  lead  up  to  the  final  and 


42  PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

all-important  step — closing  the  sale,  or  securing  the  or- 
der in  definite  shape. 

The  great  thing  in  closing  is  to  realize  the  point  at 
which  the  prospect  or  customer  is  ready  to  signify  his 
assent  to  the  proposition  presented  by  the  salesman. 

This  may  be  called  the  "psychological  moment."  It 
must  be  quickly  recognized  by  the  salesman  and  the 
proper  action  taken  by  him  immediately,  for  if  it  is  al- 
lowed to  pass  it  may  be  fatal  to  the  sale. 

The  closing  point  should  come  very  soon  after  desire 
to  purchase  is  created. 

It  must  be  the  business  of  the-  salesman  to  bring  the 
customer  to  a  decision  to  buy  just  as  soon  as  possible 
after  he  begins  to  desire  the  goods.  At  the  proper  mo- 
ment the  argument  should  cease  and  the  contract  or 
order  blank  should  be  presented  for  signature. 

In  order  to  determine  when  the  psychological  moment 
for  closing  a  sale  arrives,  the  customer  must  be  closely 
watched. 

His  interest  must  be  carefully  maintained  right  up  to 
this  point  and  the  selling  talk  should  be  brought  to  a 
close  when  the  salesman  sees  that  the  customer  is  pre- 
pared to  make  a  decision. 

The  order  blank  or  contract  may  then  be  produced  in 
a  quiet,  matter-of-fact  unostentatious  way. 

It  should  be  filled  out  rapidly,  as  if  it  were  the  most 
natural  thing  in  the  world  to  do  at  that  particular  mo- 
ment, and  it  may  then  be  at  once  passed  over  to  the  pros- 
pect for  his  signature. 

Many  men  hesitate  in  producing  the  blank  document 
that  when  signed  will  be  the  evidence  of  the  sale,  but  the 
most  successful  salesmen  are  those  who  do  not  hesitate 
when  the  right  moment  arrives;  that  is,  when  the  pros- 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  43 

pective  customer  has  been  carried  through  all  the  vari- 
ous stages  required  to  bring  his  mind  to  the  point  of  de- 
cision. It  is  at  this  point  that  the  salesman  needs  to  be 
especially  alert. 

He  must  guard,  if  possible,  against  interruption,  for  a 
slight  interruption  at  this  stage  may  break  down  the 
entire  structure  of  the  sale,  and  he  may  find  it  impos- 
sible to  regain  the  interest  of  the  prospect. 

Certain  objections  may  be  raised  at  the  last  moment, 
just  before  signing  the  order,  and  these  the  salesman 
must  be  prepared  to  meet  without  a  moment's  hesitation, 
bringing  to  bear  upon  his  anwers  all  the  power  of  his  will 
and  all  the  knowledge  of  the  goods  which  he  has  acquired 
by  study  and  experience. 

Closing  the  sale  being  all-important,  it  should  call 
forth  all  the  powers  of  the  salesman's  mind:  First,  in 
the  exercise  of  judgment  as  to  the  precise  moment  to  at- 
tempt the  closing  and  get  the  order.  Second,  to  find  the 
right  word  and  do  the  right  thing  at  the  right  moment, 
so  that  no  act  or  word  of  his  shall  lessen  his  chances  of 
success. 

Third,  to  have  all  his  faculties  under  the  most  perfect 
control  at  the  time  of  closing  the  sale,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
throw  the  entire  influence  of  his  personality  and  knowl- 
edge into  the  scale  against  the  natural  resistance  of  the 
customer. 

There  are  men  who  find  little  or  no  difficulty  in  inter- 
esting prospective  customers  or  even  in  creating  their 
desire  to  possess  the  goods  they  offer,  but  who  for  vari- 
ous reasons  find  it  difficult  to  close  the  transaction. 

Such  men  often  have  to  call  in  to  assist  them  in  clos- 
ing a  sale,  other  salesmen  of  known  ability  in  closing. 


44  PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

They  lack  one  of  the  prime  requisites  of  successful 
salesmanship,  and  can  only  supply  the  deficiency  by  care- 
ful study  of  the  methods  successfully  employed  by 
others,  by  self-examination  in  order  to  discover  wherein 
their  methods  fall  short  of  their  object,  and  by  self -train- 
ing for  more  successful  salesmanship. 

The  skillful  closing  of  a  sale  is  the  highest  accom- 
plishment of  the  scientific  salesman. 

Elements  of  a  Sale. 

Three  elements  are  generally  recognized  as  essential 
to  the  transaction  called  a  sale.  These  are : 

1.  The  Salesman. 

2.  The  Goods  or  article  to  be  sold.     The  "goods" 
may  be  a  proposition  for  acceptance  by  the  customer, 
such  as  an  offer  of  business  service,  of  advertising,  of  a 
course  of  instruction,  or  any  other  service  that  involves 
purchase  and  sale. 

3.  The  Buyer  or  Purchaser. 

These  three  elements  are  necessary  to  the  sale  itself  - 
the  completed  transaction,  at  which  point  the  work  of 
the  salesman  is  ended  except  where  he  expects  a  re-order 
or  continued  business  from  the  customer. 

A  sale  may  be  defined  as  "a  contract  made  for  the 
transfer  of  property." 

Selling  Force. 

The  selling  power  of  a  salesman,  as  has  already  been 
pointed  out  (see  Chapter  I),  depends  upon  himself.  Its 
basis  is  the  power  of  Character — the  impression  which 
the  personality  and  mind  of  the  salesman  make  upon 
the  mind  of  the  buyer. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  45 

The  plan  of  attack  used  by  one  man  in  selling  goods 
may  be  totally  different  from  that  of  another  engaged  in 
exactly  the  same  business,  and  both  may  be  equally  suc- 
cessful, but  the  weapons  of  attack  are  the  same. 

An  able  and  experienced  writer  on  Salesmanship 
has  recently  enumerated  what  he  calls  "The  Twenty 
Weapons  of  Attack,"  as  follows: 

Knowledge.  Interest.  Inducing  For- 

Suggestion.  Enthusiasm.  getfulness. 

Voice.  Desire.  Wonder. 

Manner.  Sympathy.  Surprise. 

Expression.  Self -attention.  Imitation. 

Gestures.  Persuasion.  Fear. 

Excitement.  Propitiation.  Persistence. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Knowledge  is  named  as  the  first 
weapon  of  attack.  The  successful  salesman  must  thor- 
oughly know  his  business  in  all  its  aspects  and  cannot 
possess  too  much  General  Knowledge  besides. 

Systematized  knowledge,  held  at  command  for  instant 
use  under  the  varying  circumstances  of  daily  business 
life,  is  the  salesman's  best  weapon  because  it  includes  the 
power  to  understand  or  "size  up"  the  buyer  and  the  con- 
ditions to  be  contended  with  in  making  a  sale. 

It  gives  the  salesman  confidence  in  meeting  men  and 
handling  different  classes  of  buyers.  It  gives  him  sell- 
ing force. 

With  Character,  it  forms  a  combination  that  is  hard 
to  beat.  It  will  override  obstacles,  beat  down  opposition 
and  secure  results. 

Enthusiasm. 

A  proper  degree  of  Enthusiasm  adds  to  selling  ability. 

The  salesman  who  presents  his  goods  in  a  half-hearted 


46  PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

manner  need  not  hope  for  success.  An  enthusiastic 
presentation,  on  the  other  hand,  will  often  arouse  en- 
thusiastic desire  on  the  part  of  the  buyer,  but  this  must 
not  be  overdone.  Young  salesmen,  particularly,  are  apt 
to  grow  over-enthusiastic,  and  if  they  have  the  force  of 
Character  behind  them  they  may  commit  the  error  of 
over-selling  the  customer  (which  is  generally  recognized 
as  a  mistake)  and  find  a  return  trip  unprofitable,  for  it 
is  hard  in  most  cases  to  awaken  enthusiasm  a  second  time. 

Enthusiasm  is  a  mental  fire  and  like  every  other  fire  it 
dies  down.  When  the  salesman  has  gone  and  the  cus- 
tomer is  no  longer  under  the  influence  of  his  personality, 
the  communicated  enthusiasm  will  wane  and  perhaps 
disappear  before  the  goods  are  delivered,  leaving  the 
buyer  dissatisfied  because  he  has  been  convinced  against 
his  will  during  the  period  of  mental  exaltation. 

Over-enthusiasm,  therefore,  must  be  avoided  and  a 
happy  medium  sought  in  presenting  the  goods. 

One  can  be  confident  and  forcible  in  presenting  any 
proposition  without  indulging  undue  enthusiasm  that 
may  not  be  justified  by  the  nature  of  the  goods. 

Awaken  Desire  in  the  customer  by  all  means,  but  do 
not  leave  him  in  a  condition  to  be  sadly  disappointed  on 
receipt  of  the  goods.  You  may  want  to  sell  him  again. 

Keeping  Up  Steam. 

Selling  Force  must  be  maintained  at  the  proper  pitch. 

Every  salesman  will  admit  that  there  are  times  and 
seasons  when  he  does  not  feel  up  to  the  mark — when  he 
seems  to  lack  his  usual  selling  ability. 

There  are  many  causes  for  this. 

Some  men  are  easily  affected  by  disappointments.  A 
bad  day  will  discourage  them  and  rob  them  of  much  of 


PRINCIPLES  OF   SALESMANSHIP.  47 

their  power  to  sell.  Such  a  condition  of  the  mind  must 
be  combated  by  the  power  of  the  will. 

The  health  must  be  conserved  in  order  to  maintain 
selling  ability  at  its  highest  pitch. 

The  mind  must  be  concentrated  upon  the  business  in 
hand  at  all  times,  this  being  an  important  part  of  self- 
training. 

The  salesman  must  encourage  himself  by  methods  and 
mental  processes  similar  to  those  employed  by  a  sales 
manager  in  encouraging  his  men.  In  this  respect  every 
salesman  should  be,  to  a  great  extent,  his  own  manager, 
encouraging  himself  when  difficulties  present  them- 
selves, and  seeking  at  all  times  to  provide  means  to  over- 
come every  obstacle  that  lies  in  the  path  of  his  success. 

Selling  Force  lies  in  the  individual  and  must  be  main- 
tained by  the  actions  of  the  individual  himself. 

Reading  the  Customer. 

A  busy  salesman  encounters  all  kinds  of  customers, 
and  it  is  important  that  he  should  be  able  to  discriminate 
between  the  different  types  he  meets. 

Some  men  are  able  to  read  the  character  of  a  cus- 
tomer almost  by  intuition,  which  has  been  called  "the 
sixth  sense."  Others  find  it  extremely  difficult  to  gauge 
a  stranger  clearly.  It  is  only  by  study  of  the  character- 
istics of  the  various  types  of  men  that  one  can  learn  to 
read  character  with  any  degree  of  accuracy. 

A  knowledge  of  physiognomy  will  be  found  useful. 
This  is  the  science  which  deals  with  the  face  or  counte- 
nance with  respect  to  the  temper  of  mind;  or  the  art  of 
discovering  the  characteristic  qualities  of  the  mind  by  the 


48  PRINCIPLES  OF   SALESMANSHIP. 

form  of  the  body,  by   the   external   appearance  of  the 
countenance,  or  the  combination  of  the  features. 

It  is  valuable  to  be  able  to  note  at  a  glance  the  temper- 
ament of  a  prospective  customer;  hence  a  knowledge  of 
the  principles  of  physiognomy,  supplemented  by  intui- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  salesman,  is  an  excellent  equip- 
ment. 

The  disposition  of  almost  every  man  may  be  discerned 
from  a  momentary  study  of  his  features,  especially  of 
the  eyes.  The  nature  of  his  movements  will  confirm  the 
first  reading  of  his  character  or  aid  in  correcting  the  first 
impression. 

Such  a  reading  of  the  customer  must  be  made  a  part 
of  the  preliminaries  of  the  selling  interview,  so  that  the 
actions  and  words  of  the  salesman  may  be  suited  to  the 
case. 

Various  Types  of  Buyers. 

Prospective  customers  fall  naturally  into  certain 
classes  in  every  salesman's  mind,  according  to  the  length 
and  extent  of  his  experience  with  men.  Some  recognize 
only  three  or  four  classes  of  buyers,  but  old-timers  in 
salesmanship  will  tell  you  that  they  can  classify  buyers 
into  as  many  as  sixty  or  seventy  types. 

Mr.  Chas.  Lindgren,  a  salesman  of  ripe  experience,  in 
his  book,  "The  New  Salesmanship,"  notes  the  following 
sixty-five  types  of  buyers  that  have  come  under  his  per- 
sonal notice,  and  it  is  probable  that  even  this  compre- 
hensive list  does  not  exhaust  the  various  types  of  pros- 
pective customers  with  whom  a  live  salesman  is  called 
upon  to  deal : 


PRINCIPLES  OF   SALESMANSHIP.  40 

The  Buyer  Who  Loves  to  The  Suspicious  Buyer. 

Argue.  The  Over-cautious  Buyer. 

The  Opinionated  Buyer.,  The  Buyer  Who  Likes  to 

The  Impolite  Buyer.  Compare. 

The    Buyer    of    Choleric  Buyers    Who    Intend    to 

Temper.  Defraud. 

The  "Know-It-All"  Buy-  The  Dignified  Buyer. 

The  Envious  Buyer, 
rhe   Antipathetic   Buyer.     The  Extravagant  Buyer 

The  Buyer  Who  Brags.         The  Buyer  m<)  Jg 
The  Curious  Buyer.  Rattled. 

The  Buyer  That  Cannot     The  Fastidious  Buyer 

Buyers    Who    Buy    For 
The  Credulous  Buyer.  Friendship's  Sake. 

The  Cheerful  Buyer.  The  Disputative  Buyer> 

The     Buyer     Of     Large     The  Deceitful  Buyer. 
Femininity.  g 

Buyers  Who  Are  Graft- 

CX  IS* 


Buyers  Who  Are  Drink- 
Buyers  Who  Are  GuUible.  erg 

The  Honest  Buyer.  The  Buyer  Who  Ig  A1_ 

The   Buyer  Who   Is   An  ways  Busy. 

Imitator.  The  Buyer  Who  Is  Easily 

The  Incredulous  Buyer.  Influenced. 

The  Mirthful  Buyer.  The  Flighty  Buyer. 

The  Methodical  Buyer.  The  Forgetful  Buyer. 

The  Pessimistic  Buyer.  Buyers    Who     Are    Old 

The  Open-Minded  Buyer.  Fogies. 

The  Cold-Mannered  Buy-  The    Strongly    Masculine 

er.  Buyer. 

I.B.L.    Vol.  2 — 4 


PRINCIPLES  OF   IA  I  K 


Buyers  Who  Are  Think-  Buyers  Who  Like  Good 

ers.  Times. 

The  Inflexible  Buyer.  The  Buyer  Who  Is  a  Hyp- 

The  Irritable  Buyer.  ocrite. 

The  Aggressive  Buyer.  Buyers    Who    Are  Good 

The  Disagreeable  Buyer.  Judges  of  Human  Na- 

The    Buyer   Who    Is    an  ture. 

Egotist.  The  Impulsive  Buyer. 

The    Conservative   Buyer.  Buyers  Who  Are  Liars. 

The  Conceited  Buyer.  The  Malicious  Buyer. 

The  Communicative  Buy-  The  Optimistic  Buyer. 

er.  The  Suave  Buyer. 

The  Cunning  Buyer.  The  Taciturn  Buyer. 

The  Buyer  Who  Is  Con-  The    Buyer    Who    Is    a 

centrative.  Plunger. 

Buyers  Who  Are  Change-  Buyers  Who  Are  Observ- 

able. ers. 

Mr.  Lindgren  prescribes  specific  methods  for  dealing 
with  each  of  these  types  of  customer. 

The  main  thing  is  to  be  able  to  recognize  the  type 
of  your  man  and  not  to  treat  all  men  alike,  as  if  the  same 
actions,  the  same  language,  would  apply  to  all. 

The  selling  argument  must  in  the  main  be  suited  to 
a  large  variety  of  cases,  but  the  details  and  the  man- 
ner of  its  presentation  may  vary  with  each  buyer  ap- 
proached. The  successful  salesman  is  the  man  who 
suits  his  argument  to  his  customer,  having  regard  at 
all  times  for  the  exact  truth  and  exercising  his  judg- 
ment continuously  so  as  to  avoid  antagonizing  his  man 
by  words  or  actions  unsuited  to  his  temperament. 


PRINCIPLES   OF   gAUEIMANiHIP.  M 

Reading  the  customer  is  a  branch  of  scientific  sales- 
manship that  will  well  repay  study. 

A  clever  writer  recently  said  on  this  subject:  "In 
order  to  arrive  at  a  true  estimate  of  the  man  you  are 
studying  you  must  place  yourself  in  an  intense,  recep- 
tive attitude,  and  the  party  you  are  studying  must  be 
kept  in  ignorance  of  your  purpose;  else,  if  he  has  any- 
thing to  conceal,  he  will  thwart  your  purpose  by  keep- 
ing it  in  the  background,  hurling  at  you  only  such  sug- 
gestions and  thought  messages  as  he  wishes  you  to  re- 
ceive. 

"There  are  a  few  blessed  characters  in  the  world  hav- 
ing in  them  nothing  which  needs  hiding.  Their 
thoughts  and  their  lives  are  like  open  books,  where  all 
who  will  may  read.  The  man  possessed  of  this  sort  of 
character,  if  he  has  ambition  and  business  ability,  can 
have  all  else  he  desires,  for  this  combination  commands 
the  confidence  of  all." 

Power  of  the  Will. 

The  cultivation  of  will-power  for  salesmanship  in- 
volves the  "energy  sense."  Will-power  is  exercised 
when  all  the  faculties  and  energy  of  the  mind  are  con- 
centrated upon  a  given  object. 

There  is  no  exercise  of  will-power  when  goods  are 
presented  to  a  customer  in  a  half-hearted  listless  man- 
ner. The  salesman  must  bring  to  bear  upon  the  cus- 
tomer in  his  argument,  in  his  every  word  and  action, 
not  only  the  full  power  of  his  intellect,  but  the  force  of 
faculties  trained  for  the  purpose. 

To  make  a  man  think  as  you  do,  you  must  first  think 
strongly  yourself.  You  will  convert  no  one  to  your 


52  PEINCIPLES  OF   SALESMANSHIP. 

belief  unless  you  exhibit  the  utmost  faith  in  your  theroy 
your  creed,  or  your  goods.  In  selling,  your  object  is 
not  merely  to  make  another  think  as  you  do  about  what 
you  have  to  sell,  but  to  direct  his  mind  to  the  point  of 
deciding  to  give  you  an  order. 

It  is  your  will  against  that  of  the  customer — your 
will  plus  your  weapons  of  attack  against  his  will  plus 
the  armor  of  natural  resistance,  or  indifference,  or  ig- 
norance. 

If  we  resolve  Will-power  into  its  elements,  we  shall 
find  that  these  include  Confidence,  Courage,  Decision, 
Concentration,  Deliberation,  Determination,  Aggress- 
iveness and  Perseverance.  These  are  the  qualities, 
therefore,  that  must  be  cultivated  by  the  salesman  who 
would  develop  will-power  as  an  essential  feature  of  suc- 
cess. 

The  customer  is  converted  into  a  purchaser  by  the 
salesman  who  knows  how  to  transmit  to  the  mind  of  the 
other  his  own  convictions  and  enthusiasm  regarding  the 
goods  he  has  to  sell.  This  is  not  done  by  words 
alone.  It  involves  far  more  than  words.  The  mental 
processes  of  the  salesman  must  be  such  as  to  find  an 
echo  in  the  mind  of  the  customer  and  lead  him  step  by 
step — pleasingly  if  possible,  but  certainly,  no  matter 
what  method  is  employed — to  the  point  of  decision  in 
favor  of  the  salesman. 

Power  of  the  Voice. 

A  well-trained  voice  is  a  splendid  possessior,  and 
counts  for  much  in  salesmanship.  It  is  well  worth  while 
to  cultivate  the  art  of  expression,  both  by  voice  and  by 
manner. 

There  will  be  no  two  opinions  about  the  power  of  the 


PRINCIPLES  OF   SALESMANSHIP.  58 

cultivated  voice.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  said  of  it :  "It 
is  like  an  orchestra ;  it  ranges  high,  intermediate  or  low, 
unconsciously  to  him  who  uses  it;  and  men  listen,  un- 
aware that  they  have  been  bewitched  by  the  charm  of 
a  voice,  not  artificial,  but  made  by  assiduous  training 
to  be  his  second  nature  in  its  truest  form." 

A  pleasing  voice  and  cultivated  expression  will  often 
secure  a  hearing  for  the  salesman  where  he  would  other- 
wise experience  difficulty.  It  is  not  necessary  to  be 
an  elocutionist  in  order  to  present  a  proposition  or  make 
a  selling  argument  clearly  and  pleasingly,  but  the  ad- 
vantage is  on  the  side  of  the  man  with  the  trained,  well- 
modulated  voice  and  expression,  who  knows  how  to  use 
the  accomplishment  properly. 

Suggestion. 

Suggestion  is  of  two  principal  kinds:  First,  direct 
suggestion,  or  the  plain  presentation  of  some  idea  to 
the  mind  of  another;  second,  indirect  suggestion,  or  the 
insinuation  into  the  mind  of  another  of  some  belief  or 
impulse  by  means  of  words,  manners,  or  gestures,  as  in 
hypnotism. 

The  study  of  Suggestion  in  salesmanship  may  be  car- 
ried very  far.  For  instance,  delving  into  psychology, 
one  may  study  the  "association  of  ideas,"  or  the  condi- 
tions under  which  one  idea  is  able  to  recall  another  to  con- 
sciousness. These  conditions  may  be  classified  under 
two  general  heads — the  law  of  contiguity,  and  the  law 
of  association.  The  first  states  the  fact  that  actions, 
sensations,  emotions,  and  ideas,  which  have  occurred  to- 
gether, or  in  close  succession,  tend  to  suggest  each  other 
when  any  one  of  them  is  afterward  presented  to  the  mind. 
The  second  indicates  that  the  present  actions,  sensations, 


54  PRINCIPLES  OF   SALESMANSHIP. 

emotions,  or  ideas  tend  to  recall  their  like  from  among 
previous  experiences.  On  their  physical  side  the  prin- 
ciples of  association  correspond  with  the  physiological 
facts  of  reexcitation  of  the  same  nervous  centers. 

In  its  ordinary  acceptation  a  suggestion  is  any  idea  or 
object  that  presents  itself  to  the  mind  through  the  senses, 
causing  thought  or  emotion  or  action.  We  receive  sug- 
gestions from  outside  sources.  Suggestion  in  salesman- 
ship is  the  transmission  of  our  own  ideas  to  others. 
Hence,  a  salesman  must  be  extremely  careful  in  the  use 
of  words  that  may  possibly  convey  the  wrong  idea  to 
the  mind  of  the  customer.  A  suggestion  may  imbed  it- 
self in  the  mind  of  the  customer  and  immediately  group 
around  itself  other  ideas  of  a  totally  different  character 
from  those  which  the  salesman  is  seeking  to  convey. 

In  the  use  of  suggestion  the  salesman  must  consider 
the  possible  effect  upon  the  mind  of  his  "prospect";  in 
other  words,  put  himself  in  the  prospect's  place  and  con- 
sider what  the  effect  of  the  suggestion  would  then  proba- 
bly be. 

Remember,  too,  that  suggestions  may  be  conveyed  by 
the  salesman's  actions  as  well  as  by  his  words.  Thus, 
he  may  convey  an  impression  of  being  too  "smart"  or 
too  "smooth".  He  may  display  timidity — and  so  suggest 
lack  of  confidence  in  his  goods.  He  may  be  too  aggres- 
sive in  his  manner — and  so  suggest  to  the  mind  of  the 
customer  that  he  is  "bluffing"  his  goods  through  the 
market. 

Or,  on  the  other  hand,  aggressiveness  may  have  a  total- 
ly opposite  effect.  If  it  is  not  overdone,  it  may  suggest 
to  the  buyer  that  the  goods  possess  so  much  merit  that 
aggressiveness  on  the  part  of  the  salesman  is  natural 


PRINCIPLES   *F   SALESMANSHIP.  55 

under  the  circumstances.  Much,  it  will  be  seen,  depends 
upon  the  conditions  in  each  individual  case. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  any  kind  of  suggestion 
consists  of  "an  idea  or  chain  of  ideas  that  will  produce  an 
act  of  the  will." 

Beware  of  using  any  form  of  suggestion  if  you  are 
doubtful  of  the  effect. 

Before  using  suggestion,  says  an  experienced  sales- 
man, ask  yourself  these  questions:  "What  does  he  know 
about  what  I  am  going  to  say  or  show  him?  How  will 
it  affect  him,  or  how  will  he  feel  about  it?  How  shall 
I  present  my  ideas?" 

Auto-Suggestion. 

Auto-suggestion  is  suggestion  arising  within  one's 
own  mind,  as  distinguished  from  suggestion  initiated 
by  another.  It  is  an  idea  that  occurs  within  the  mind 
itself  and  may  be  caused  by  a  recurrence  of  memory 
prompted  by  suggestion. 

We  can  see  the  power  of  auto-suggestion  by  remem- 
bering that  a  man  can  repeat  a  falsehood  so  often  that 
he  himself  comes  to  believe  it  is  true. 

The  act  of  repeating  to  oneself  any  statement  or  idea 
one  wishes  the  mind  to  retain  is  auto-suggestion.  It  is 
used  at  its  best  in  building  up  character. 

In  salesmanship,  through  the  medium  of  suggestion, 
auto-suggestion  is  caused  to  occur  in  the  mind  of  the 
buyer  by  hint,  insinuation,  intimation,  or  innuendo.  Its 
effect  is  powerful  and  far-reaching 

Character  and  Health. 

We  have  already  seen  that  character  is  the  basis  of 
salesmanship  and  it  is  not  necessary  here  to  enlarge  upon 


56  PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

the  importance  of  being  constantly  on  guard  to  pre- 
serve the  character  against  the  assaults  of  temptation, 
often  presented  in  alluring  forms  and  calculated  to  trap 
the  unwary. 

The  traveling  salesman,  particularly,  should  be  as  care- 
ful to  withstand  all  insidious  attacks  upon  his  character 
when  he  is  on  the  road  as  when  he  is  at  home.  He  may 
rest  assured  that  in  circumspection  of  conduct  and  unre- 
mitting care  of  character  lies  the  only  assurance  of  per- 
sonal comfort.  That  may  be  only  a  selfish  consideration, 
but  it  should  be  sufficient  of  itself  to  keep  one  ever  on 
guard  against  temptation. 

Physical  health  is  a  treasure  to  be  guarded  like  char- 
acter. It  is  a  magnet  in  business.  It  has  an  attraction 
all  its  own. 

The  man  who  is  every  inch  a  man,  in  the  full  posses- 
sion of  health  and  strength,  radiates  sunshine  and  dispels 
gloom.  He  inspires  confidence,  performs  his  work  with 
ease,  and  conveys  the  impression  of  ability. 

Health  gives  him  added  Selling  Force.  It  must  be 
carefully  conserved  and  not  trifled  with. 

Practical  Hints  for  Salesmen. 
(By  Seymour  Eaton.) 

Cultivate  a  memory  for  faces  and  names. 

Remember  that  selling  ability  depends  very  largely 
upon  common  sense. 

It  is  not  the  quantity,  but  the  quality  of  speech  which 
tells.  The  successful  salesman  knows  how  to  talk,  what 
to  talk  about,  and  more  especially  when  to  stop  talking. 
To  say  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time  is  not  nearly  so 
difficult  as  to  say  nothing  at  the  right  time.  The  seller 
should  only  talk  enough  to  keep  the  buyer  talking. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  57 

The  faculty  of  holding  trade,  or  of  selling  repeatedly 
to  the  same  people,  is  the  highest  attribute  in  the  qualifi- 
cations of  a  successful  salesman. 

Understand  thoroughly  what  you  are  trying  to  sell. 
Know  your  goods,  believe  in  them  yourself,  and  you  are 
sure  to  inspire  confidence  in  the  buyer.  If  a  salesman 
cannot  bring  himself  to  believe  in  himself,  his  house  and 
his  goods,  he  is  either  very  badly  placed  or  he  has  mis- 
taken his  calling. 

A  conceited,  pretentious  and  affected  manner  disgusts 
and  repels,  while  a  person  whose  bearing  is  simple  and 
natural  attracts  and  makes  friends. 

Remember  that  he  who  puts  another  in  the  attitude  of 
being  a  teacher  to  him  pays  him  a  delicate  compliment 
which  is  generally  appreciated. 

A  good  salesman  seldom  asks  a  man  if  he  wants  to  buy 
goods ;  he  doesn't  come  at  him  that  way. 

The  man  who  smilingly  assents  to  everything  the  sales- 
man says  does  not  intend  to  buy ;  he  is  framing  an  excuse 
for  himself. 

The  eye  is  the  chief  medium  through  which  a  man  fires 
off  whatever  personal  magnetism  he  possesses.  One  who 
really  feels  good-will  may  often  infuse  it  into  the  heart  of 
another  by  looking  kindly  and  pleasantly  straight  into 
his  eyes.  There  is  an  old  maxim:  "When  you  buy, 
keep  one  eye  on  the  goods,  the  other  on  the  seller;  when 
you  sell,  keep  both  eyes  on  the  buyer." 

The  best  salesmen  of  the  future  will  not  be  illiterate. 
Education  informs  the  mind,  trains  the  thinking  powers, 
and  stamps  the  face  with  intelligence. 

Activity  is  not  necessarily  energy  or  industry.  A 
Westerner  says  that  it  does  not  matter  what  kind  of 


*S  PftKVtl  PI-CS   9T   SAiBSMANI 


tracks  you  learc  so  long  as  you  get  thert.     This  is 
tainly  not  true  when  applied  to  salesmen. 

There  are  cold,  bilious,  disgruntled  people,  who  can  no 
more  be  opened  out  by  politeness  than  oysters.  Such  can 
only  be  reached  through  their  self-interest. 

The  well-dressed  man  has  more  self-respect,  and  com- 
mands more,  than  the  man  in  seedy  attire. 

You  will  sell  more  goods  in  five  minutes  on  a  bright, 
busy  day,  when  the  store  is  full  of  customers,  than  in  an 
hour  on  a  rainy  day,  when  everything  is  dull  and  the  mer- 
chant gloomy. 

Faithfulness  and  trustworthiness  are  more  valuable 
than  intelligence,  for  they  are  very  much  harder  to  find 
and  can't  be  bought. 

You  can't  frighten  common  sense  into  anybody,  or 
bulldoze  trustworthiness  out  of  him. 

Your  associates  should  be  pure  and  good,  and  your 
personal  habits  correct. 

You  must  be  governed  by  sound  principles  of  morality 
and  religion,  without  which  no  true  success  can  be  at- 
tained. 


CHAPTER  III. 

MARKETING  A  PRODUCT. 

Scientific  education  in  Salesmanship  should  include 
some  knowledge  of  the  organization  of  distributive  in- 
dustries, or  the  means  employed  in  business  for  organiz- 
ing the  market  between  the  producer  and  consumer. 

This  branch  of  the  organization  of  the  world's  business 
performs  a  function  entirely  distinct  from  either  produc- 
tion or  manufacturing.  Distribution  requires  a  separate 
organization,  even  though  the  work  may  be  done,  as  it 
often  is,  by  the  same  concern  that  produces  or  manufac- 
tures the  goods. 

The  function  of  a  distributive  organization  is  to  fur- 
nish or  create  a  market  where  producer,  manufacturer 
and  consumer  may,  so  to  speak,  meet  half-way.  In  the 
middle  ages  such  markets  were  places  of  actual  meeting. 
Buyer,  producer  and  consumer  came  in  actual  touch  with 
each  other,  as  in  street  fairs  and  market  places  where 
goods  were  brought  periodically  and  supply  and  demand 
met. 

With  the  lapse  of  time  and  the  development  of  indus- 
try, markets  became  specialized.  Special  markets  were 
established  for  various  lines  of  trade.  Dealers  in  these 
lines  congregated  together  for  convenience  and  we  find 
today  many  recognized  metropolitan  markets  for  certain 
lines.  Thus,  we  see  special  markets  in  New  York,  Chi- 
cago, St.  Louis,  New  Orleans,  Minneapolis  and  other 
cities  of  the  United  States,  each  a  headquarters  for  the 
distribution  of  certain  commodities.  Well-recognized 

59 


60  MARKETING  A  PRODUCT. 

distributive  markets  are  found  in  Canada  in  the  cities  of 
Montreal,  Toronto  and  Winnipeg.  World-markets  for 
various  lines  of  trade  are  found  in  London,  Liverpool 
and  New  York,  in  Paris  and  in  Bremen.  At  Nijni- 
Novgorod,  in  Russia,  the  fur  merchants  of  the  world 
have  long  been  in  the  habit  of  coming  together  annually 
to  buy  and  sell  furs. 

Secondary  markets  for  the  distribution  of  well-known 
lines  of  goods  are  found  in  many  other  places  scattered 
over  the  eastern  and  western  hemispheres,  each  serving 
the  purposes  of  a  given  area  of  trade.  Thus  we  come  to 
the  local  distributive  markets,  known  as  wholesale  or  job- 
bing centers,  each  serving  its  own  territory  and  fulfill- 
ing a  well-defined  function  in  the  general  plan  of  dis- 
tributive organization.  Finally  we  arrive  at  the  true 
local  market,  the  retailer's  store. 

In  all  these  markets  Salesmanship  finds  exercise  and 
its  higher  development.  It  must  ever  be  remembered 
by  the  student  of  business  that  the  principles  of  Sales- 
manship are  carried  into  the  highest  places — that  the  man 
who  sells  a  railroad  is  governed  by  the  principles  which 
it  is  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  elucidate,  just  as  inex- 
orably as  the  man  who  sells  a  bilUof  goods  to  a  country 
merchant. 

Organization  of  Distribution. 

In  the  larger  market  centers  the  modern  organization 
of  distribution  includes  wholesalers,  jobbers  and  commis- 
sion firms.  In  the  local  market  we  find  the  retailer  buy- 
ing his  goods  from  the  manufacturing  and  wholesaling 
centers  and  supplying  the  wants  of  the  consumer,  who  is 
thus,  ultimately,  reached  by  the  distributive  organization. 

In  the  organization  of  markets  we  find  a  broad  distinc- 


MARKETING  A  PRODUCT.  61 

tion  between  the  means  employed  for  the  distribution  of 
raw  materials,  especially  agricultural  products,  and  the 
distribution  of  manufactured  goods.  The  former  are 
distributed  largely  through  exclusive  speculative  ex- 
changes, sometimes  called  boards  of  trade,  etc.  Manu- 
factured articles,  on  the  other  hand,  are  distributed  by 
commercial  bargaining  or  direct  selling.  Clothing, 
boots  and  shoes,  machinery  and  other  manufactured 
wares  are  bought  and  sold,  not  at  a  central  exchange, 
among  an  exclusive  class  of  traders  in  any  particular  one 
of  these  commodities,  but  at  a  large  number  of  distribut- 
ing points,  after  personal  inspection  of  the  goods  and 
bargaining  between  manufacturers,  wholesale  merchants 
and  commission  men,  the  actual  transactions  being  car- 
ried on  in  the  individual  offices  and  showrooms  of  these 
dealers. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  at  this  time  to  deal  with  the  sub- 
ject of  selling  at  exchanges,  which  is  the  method  em- 
ployed in  moving  grains,  live  stock,  produce,  cotton,  to- 
bacco, etc.,  but  rather  with  the  open  market  in  which 
manufactured  goods  are  sold  and  where  the  time-hon- 
ored methods  of  bargaining  still  form  the  selling  basis. 

The  Jobber  or  Wholesaler. 

"Distribution  begins  at  the  factory,  farm  or  mine," 
says  Dr.  Samuel  E.  Sparling  in  his  able  work  on  "Busi- 
ness Organization."  "Beginning  with  the  factory,  we 
find  that  frequently  the  important  task  is  to  dispose  of 
the  output  in  large  quantities,  and  it  is  this  fact  that 
gives  to  wholesaling  its  special  importance.  The  primary 
function  of  the  jobber  or  wholesaler  is  to  organize  the 
market  for  the  manufacturer.  Often  the  large  whole- 


62  MARKETING   A    PRODUCT. 

sale  houses  take  the  entire  output  of  several  factories. 
They  buy  in  large  quantities,  and  have  their  purchasing 
agents  in  all  the  principal  markets.  In  the  trade,  job- 
bing is  virtually  synonymous  with  wholesaling.  How- 
ever, jobbing  is  less  inclusive,  while  wholesaling  refers  to 
the  broader  aspects  of  distribution.  Still,  they  are  es- 
sentially the  same  in  organization  and  purpose. 

"The  jobber  or  wholesaler  exists  in  nearly  all  lines  of 
trade,  and  stands  between  the  producer  and  the  con- 
sumer. The  wholesale  business  has  been  greatly  affected 
by  consolidation,  and  by  the  establishment  of  retail  stores. 
This  is  true  especially  where  department  stores  have  ap- 
peared. Here  the  retailer  is  in  competition  with  the 
wholesaler,  and  in  some  instances  has  virtually  driven 
him  from  business,  because  the  former  can  buy  in  such 
quantities  as  will  enable  him  to  get  on  the  jobber's  list. 
The  large  retail  department  stores  carry  enormous  stocks 
and  can  deal  directly  with  the  manufacturer  with  good 
results  both  to  themselves  and  to  their  customers.  For- 
merly a  large  capital  was  required,  a  fact  which  made  the 
commission  merchant  necessary.  This  necessitated  sep- 
arate capital  and  buildings  to  bring  the  goods  to  the  at- 
tention of  the  wholesaler.  Two  risks  grew  out  of  this— 
the  manufacturer's  and  the  commission  man's  risk.  At 
present  in  some  lines  of  trade  the  manufacturer  is  usually 
in  closer  touch  with  the  retailer,  and  does  not  need  to  take 
the  large  risks  of  former  days,  or  to  employ  the  commis- 
sion merchant  to  make  his  sales. 

"There  are  two  classes  of  jobbing-houses — general 
and  special.  The  latter  largely  predominates,  although 
general  wholesaling  has  increased  in  some  instances;  still, 
the  wholesale  business  is  virtually  specialized.  It  is  in 


MARKETING  A   PRODUCT.  6$ 

the  terms  of  the  trade  a  one-line  business.  The  scope  of 
the  one-line  wholesale  house  is  determined  by  the  natural 
grouping  of  commodities. 

"The  trade  recognizes  the  following  lines  of  distribu- 
tion as  the  basis  of  division  and  organization :  dry  goods, 
groceries,  clothing,  boots  and  shoes,  drugs,  jewelry, 
hardware,  millinery,  music  supplies,  stationery  and  books 
and  machinery.  This  classification  is  arbitrary,  and  has 
been  developed  by  the  trade  for  its  convenience.  Some 
of  these  lines  are  still  more  specialized,  notably  the  dry 
goods  business.  We  find  in  the  latter  case  houses  han- 
dling only  ready-made  clothing,  or  collars  and  cuffs,  or 
cotton,  or  woolen  goods." 

Modern  Methods  of  Marketing. 

There  are  two  principal  methods  of  marketing  the 
product  of  a  manufacturing  concern,  which  may  be 
taken  as  typical  of  a  modern  business.  The  managers 
(a)  may  organize  a  Sales  Department  and  send  out  trav- 
eling salesmen  to  seek  the  retailer  and  direct  purchaser, 
or  (b)  they  may  rely  upon  jobbers  and  wholesalers  to 
market  their  output. 

The  method  adopted  depends  largely  upon  the  volume 
of  the  product  and  the  demand  for  it.  Where  the  goods 
are  of  such  character  as  to  require  active  pushing  direct 
selling  is  usually  preferred.  Sales  departments,  how- 
ever, are  expensive  and,  in  order  to  maintain  an  elaborate 
sales  department  with  profit,  the  volume  of  the  sales  must 
be  greatly  increased  by  its  means,  unless  the  expense  is 
balanced  by  the  saving  effected  through  eliminating  the 
jobber,  wholesaler,  or  middleman. 

In  cases  where  a  manufacturing  business  is  largely 
confined  to  executing  special  orders  a  sales  department 


64  MARKETING  A   PRODUCT. 

of  a  nominal  character  is  maintained,  to  solicit  business 
and  make  contracts  for  the  goods  to  be  manufactured; 
for  instance,  engines  to  be  built,  etc. 

The  sales  department  is  in  all  cases  a  part  of  the  office 
organization  or  the  commercial  branch  of  a  business.  Its 
function  is  to  market  the  product  to  the  best  advantage, 
to  keep  the  works  busy  and  to  extend  the  business  by  cre- 
ating a  demand  for  the  goods  made  by  the  concern. 

The  latter  specific  duty,  namely,  that  of  creating  de- 
mand, sometimes  falls  on  a  special  branch  of  the  selling 
organization,  often  regarded  as  a  department  in  itself, 
namely,  the  advertising  department. 

This  is  an  age  of  publicity  and  every  manufacturing 
concern  endeavors  to  create  a  demand  for  its  goods  by 
interesting  prospective  customers  through  publicity  of 
some  kind  or  other.  The  various  methods  of  employing 
printers'  ink  for  this  purpose  need  not  be  entered  into 
here.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  advertising  department 
of  a  selling  organization  is  becoming  daily  more  impor- 
tant. Whatever  prejudice  once  existed  in  the  minds  of 
conservative  manufacturers  against  advertising  their 
wares  has  practically  disappeared,  and  side  by  side  with 
its  going  we  have  seen  the  partial  elimination  of  the  mid- 
dleman. 

Advantage  of  a  Sales  Force. 

Direct  selling  of  manufactured  products  through  a 
sales  force  under  the  immediate  control  of  the  manufac- 
turer is  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the  house,  in  spite  of 
its  undoubted  expense,  because  it  can  be  controlled.  It 
is  recognized  by  manufacturers  generally  that,  although 
it  is  often  difficult  to  secure  competent  salesmen,  or  men 
that  can  be  successfully  trained,  and  so  to  build  up  a  sat- 


MARKETING  A  PBQDUCT.  (55 

isfactory  sales  organization,  a  still  more  difficult  task 
confronts  the  man  who  tries  to  dispose  of  his  product  ex- 
clusively through  jobbers. 

The  modern  sales  manager  has  the  advantage  of  being 
able  to  choose  his  sales  force.  You  cannot  lay  off  a  job- 
ber who  falls  asleep  at  the  switch,  so  to  speak,  and  fails 
to  push  your  goods  as  they  should  be  pushed,  but  you  can 
replace  an  unsatisfactory  salesman.  The  up-to-date 
sales  department,  therefore,  has  it  in  its  power  to  obtain 
results  because  it  can  choose  its  salesmen,  train  them, 
watch  them,  encourage  them,  co-operate  with  them,  and 
in  many  ways  assist  them  in  the  field,  and  keep  them  con- 
stantly up  to  the  mark. 

Assisting  the  Jobber. 

When  goods  are  marketed  solely  through  jobbers,  the 
manufacturer  is  practically  at  the  mercy  of  the  jobber. 
His  sales  are  limited  by  the  demand  found  by  the  jobber. 
True,  he  can  assist  the  jobber  by  advertising  campaigns, 
designed  to  secure  general  publicity  for  his  product.  A 
certain  amount  of  such  publicity  is  usually  necessary,  but 
general  publicity  is  expensive  and  its  results  do  not  al- 
ways appear  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  manufacturer. 

"To  have  an  influence  on  the  jobbing  trade,"  says  a 
well-known  publisher,  "advertisements  must  be  of  two 
classes — those  in  the  jobbers'  trade  papers  and  others,  as 
those  in  general  magazines,  which  give  general  publicity. 
A  general  publicity  campaign  is  an  expensive  one,  and  it 
must  be  kept  in  mind  what  proportion  of  advertising  ex- 
pense is  to  be  allotted  to  general  publicity  and  what  pro- 
portion to  'specific  publicity'  or  special  advertising. 

"It  will  be  found,  almost  without  exception,  that  the 
best  returns  from  advertising  are  those  in  which  a  specific 

I.B.I,.    Vol .  2—5 


66  MARKETING  A  PRODUCT. 

demand  is  made,  and  this  cannot  be  done  in  a  general 
publicity  campaign. 

"A  certain  amount  of  general  publicity,  however,  is 
necessary  to  assist  the  jobber  in  disposing  of  his  product. 
General  publicity  in  the  abstract  is  expensive  and  does 
not  possess  the  main  virtue  which  the  direct  advertise- 
ment does,  namely,  the  property  of  being  keyed  so  as  to 
show  exact  results.  A  direct  advertisement  nowadays 
uniformly  bears  a  key  which  shows  how  many  orders  the 
advertisement  in  question  has  pulled." 

The  Advertising  Department. 

Where  advertising  is  employed  as  a  principal  means 
of  creating  a  demand  for  any  product,  the  Advertising 
Department  forms  part  of  the  office  or  commercial  or- 
ganization, and  exercises  general  supervision  over  the 
methods  and  mediums  employed  in  obtaining  publicity 
for  the  business  of  the  concern. 

This  department  may  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  in- 
clude not  only  a  responsible  head,  or  advertising  man- 
ager, but  also  a  "copy"  department,  and  even  an  art  de- 
partment for  the  preparation  of  illustrations  to  be  used 
in  advertising. 

A  responsible  advertising  manager  determines  the 
publicity  policy  of  the  concern  and  selects  the  various 
mediums  or  publications  in  which  advertisements  are  to 
be  inserted. 

The  Advertising  Department  keeps  a  close  watch  of 
the  publication  of  all  advertisements,  and  usually  "keys" 
them,  so  as  to  be  able  to  gauge  and  keep  track  of  the  re- 
sults secured  through  the  respective  mediums. 

Sometimes  the  Advertising  Department  turns  over 
the  actual  selection  of  methods  and  mediums  of  publicity 


MARKETING  A  PRODUCT.  67 

to  a  professional  "advertising  agency."  The  agency  is 
a  modern  development  with  which  all  business  men  now- 
adays are  familiar.  The  Advertising  Department  of  the 
concern  seeking  publicity  may  still  prepare  the  advertis- 
ing copy  in  such  a  case,  or  it  may  also  turn  over  this 
branch  of  the  work  to  the  agency. 

Agency  methods  have  been  so  developed  by  experi- 
ence, the  rapid  extension  of  advertising  knowledge,  and 
the  growth  of  the  advertising  profession,  that  it  is  in 
many  cases  distinctly  advantageous  to  the  manufacturer 
to  delegate  the  work  of  securing  publicity  for  his 
product  to  such  representatives. 

Usually  a  certain  sum  of  money  is  set  apart  by  every 
manufacturing  concern,  to  be  devoted  to  publicity  dur- 
ing each  year.  This  appropriation  is  expended  by  the 
Advertising  Department,  whether  it  works  through  an 
agency  or  not,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  the  widest 
and  most  profitable  publicity  possible. 

If  the  Advertising  Department  delegates  its  power  of 
selecting  mediums  to  an  agency,  it  still  acts  as  a  consult- 
ing authority,  and  furnishes  the  information  regarding 
the  product  and  other  business  of  the  concern,  on  which 
the  advertising  policy  is  based. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  advertising  is  a  method 
of  selling.  It  sells  by  means  of  the  printed  word,  while 
the  salesman  in  personal  contact  with  the  customer  sells 
by  means  of  the  spoken  word.  Good  advertising  is  good 
salesmanship.  The  most  successful  modern  advertising 
is  based  on  the  principles  of  scientific  salesmanship. 

In  the  majority  of  cases  business  men  find  it  to 
their  advantage  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  every  branch 
of  salesmanship,  and  more  and  more  of  them  every  day 


68  MAEKETINO  A   PRODUCT. 

are  learning  the  art  of  advertising  as  an  important  part 
of  a  liberal  education  in  Salesmanship. 

The  methods  commonly  employed  in  selling  goods  at 
wholesale  and  at  retail,  also  through  agents  of  various 
kinds,  are  dealt  with  in  subsequent  chapters. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
PERSONALITY  OF  THE  SALESMAN. 

"The  world  is  full  of  clerks,  but  salesmen  are  so 
scarce  that  the  lack  of  them  drives  the  store  manager 
to  the  point  of  desperation.  I  could  fill  the  store  from 
the  roof  to  the  third  basement  with  clerks,  but  I  can't 
get  half  the  number  of  salesmen  I  want." 

This  statement,  made  by  the  manager  of  a  great  Chi- 
cago retail  business,  illustrates  the  point  that  in  sell- 
ing goods  much  depends  upon  the  personality  of  the 
salesman. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  this  manager  was  talk- 
ing, not  on  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  after  some  par- 
ticularly distressing  instance  of  incompetency,  but  as 
the  result  of  ripe  experience  in  the  management  of  a 
large  business  and  with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
requirements  of  retail  salesmanship. 

To  a  very  great  extent  what  is  true  of  the  retail  sales- 
man is  true  of  all  salesmen.  To  paraphrase  the  remark 
of  the  manager  referred  to  above,  the  business  world 
is  full  of  people  selling  goods  who  are  not  salesmen. 

The  principles  of  salesmanship  are  much  alike  in  all 
cases,  whether  the  salesman  be  engaged  in  wholesale  or 
retail  business.  The  steps  to  be  taken  in  effecting  a 
sale,  or  rather  the  steps  through  which  the  prospective 
customer  must  be  led,  are  alike.  As  has  already  been 
pointed  out,  these  four  stages  of  the  sale  are  as  follows : 


70  PERSONALITY  OF  THE  SALESMAN. 

1.  Securing  the  attention  of  the  customer. 

2.  Awakening  interest. 

3.  Creating  desire,  and 

4.  Causing  decision,  or  the  buying  impulse — that  is, 
closing  the  sale. 

In  every  one  of  these  stages  the  personality  of  the 
salesman  counts  for  much.  What  is  it  then  that  con- 
stitutes the  right  kind  of  personality  to  make  a  success- 
ful salesman?  In  what  respects  of  personal  character, 
personal  appearance,  deportment  and  actions  does  the 
salesman  differ  from  the  mere  clerk?  How  does  the 
great  retail  manager  distinguish  the  salesman  from  the 
clerk?  What  are  the  personal  characteristics  in  a  sales- 
man that  command  success? 

Trained  Faculties  Required. 

Salesmanship  is  sometimes  defined  as  the  ability  to 
read  human  nature.  A  successful  salesman  must  be 
trained  to  read  his  customer.  He  must  be  able,  first, 
to  distinguish  between  different  kinds  of  men,  and  sec- 
ond, to  apply  the  proper  treatment  to  each  individual 
case.  In  some  men  the  ability  to  read  their  fellowmen 
exists  as  a  sort  of  natural  gift,  but  it  is  more  often  the 
result  of  careful  observation,  self-control,  and  persever- 
ance in  studying  the  actions  and  characteristics  of  the 
various  men  one  meets.  This  will  develop  the  intuitive 
faculty,  or  the  so-called  "sixth  sense,"  which  can  be 
trained,  like  every  other  sense,  to  a  high  point  of  devel- 
opment. 

Women  are  generally  believed  to  possess  intuition  in 
a  higher  degree  than  men.  They  often  take  an  imme- 
diate liking  or  form  an  immediate  aversion  to  a  person 


PERSONALITY  OF  THE  SALESMAN.  71 

at  first  sight — but  so  do  many  men.  It  is  probable  that 
the  alleged  superior  intuition  of  woman  is  merely  the 
result  of  unconscious  training  of  the  faculty  of  observa- 
tion and  of  self-control,  so  that  as  in  the  case  of  the  man 
who  consciously  seeks  to  develop  intuition,  the  ability 
to  read  the  characteristics  of  others  at  sight  is  gradually 
but  surely  acquired.  The  average  woman  is  perhaps  a 
closer  observer  of  personal  characteristics  than  the  av- 
erage man;  hence  her  superior  "intuition."  No  mat- 
ter how  it  may  be  acquired,  it  is  a  valuable  item  in  sales- 
manship. 

Personal  Appearance. 

The  salesman  who  is  able  to  read  his  customer  enjoys 
a  decided  advantage  in  proceeding  with  the  steps  of  the 
sale,  but  he  himself  is  also  the  subject  of  observation  by 
the  customer;  hence  his  personal  appearance  and  the 
first  impression  he  makes  upon  the  prospect  are  im- 
portant. 

The  first  factor  of  personality  to  be  considered,  there- 
fore, is  personal  appearance. 

It  seems  scarcely  necessary  in  this  age  of  universal 
education  to  say  much  about  the  necessity  in  modern 
business  of  taking  the  utmost  care  of  one's  appearance. 

Clothes  do  not  make  the  man,  but  clothes  are  an  im- 
portant factor  in  personal  appearance,  and  the  success- 
ful salesman  of  the  twentieth  century  is  a  well-dressed 
man;  not  a  flashily  dressed  person,  but  one  whose  at- 
tire is  well  fitted  both  to  his  person  and  to  his  calling. 
He  dresses  suitably  for  the  circumstances  under  which 
he  sells  his  goods.  He  is  not  necessarily  a  mirror 
of  fashion,  and  he  does  not  affect  extreme  styles  in  dress ; 
but  he  is  businesslike  in  his  attire  as  in  his  deportment, 


72  PEBiOXALITY  OF  THE  SALESMAN. 

and  wears  the  garb  of  a  gentleman  in  a  gentlemanly 
way.  He  must  strive  to  be  a  gentleman  and  not  a 
"gent."  He  may  be  a  sportsman,  but  he  must  not  be 
a  "sport." 

Regarding  the  importance  of  taking  care  of  the  per- 
sonal appearance,  the  following  pertinent  and  practical 
remarks  by  Mr.  Henry  Baxton  in  the  Workers'  Maga- 
zine of  the  Chicago  Tribune  are  well  worth  reproduction 
here: 

"Are  you  the  best  dressed,  cleanest  cut  salesman  in 
your  line  at  your  salary?  Do  you  call  on  trade  that  is 
prone  to  look  soiled  and  sloppy,  careless  in  dress,  and 
in  dirty  surroundings?  People  engaged  in  a  business 
that  necessitates  their  being  smeared  with  oil,  grease, 
mud,  and  smut?  Look  yourself  over.  Have  you,  too, 
from  constant  contact  become  lax  or  careless  as  to  per- 
sonal appearance?  So  many  salesmen  do. 

"It  brings  to  mind  a  case  where  a  year  or  so  ago  a 
brilliant  young  man  went  out  from  Chicago  to  solicit 
shipments  of  cream  from  the  farmer.  His  firm  enjoys 
a  rating  of  $7,500,000  in  the  commercial  directories. 
He,  however,  tried  to  look  the  same  as  the  people  he 
called  upon,  dressed  'rubelike,'  lasted  a  couple  of  months, 
was  called  in,  and  listed  'unsuccessful.'  His  10-cent 
straw  hat,  blue  shirt,  uncreased  trousers,  muddy  shoes, 
and  unshaven  face  did  not  inspire  confidence. 

"To  inspire  confidence  in  people  who  consider  invest- 
ment of  their  hard-earned  dollars  a  salesman  must  look 
the  part.  Success  is  the  magnet  that  attracts  and  draws 
business  your  way. 

"You  must  look  the  part  of  success,  and  a  successful 
salesman  must  dress  to  inspire  confidence.  The  custom- 


PERSONALITY  OF  THE  SALESMAN.  7S 

er's  first  impression  of  a  salesman  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant elements  of  selling.  Don't  present  an  unpleas- 
ing  picture  when  you  make  your  appearance — un- 
shaven, bad  breath,  rumpled  and  baggy  clothing,  soiled 
linen,  run  down  and  sloppy  shoes,  rusty  old  hats,  cigaret 
stains,  tobacco  bag  strings  or  tags  hanging  out  of  pock- 
ets, and  pipes.  Carry  no  pipes ;  they  spread  odors  any- 
thing but  sweet  to  others.  Care  for  your  teeth;  keep 
them  clean. 

"A  bad  breath  chases  away  many  an  order.  Become 
soiled,  muddy,  and  smeared  in  your  work  if  you  have 
to,  but  start  clean  and  neat  always. 

"If  there  is  promotion  in  sight  for  you,  you  will  no 
doubt  meet  a  better  dressed  class,  more  carefully 
groomed.  Be  assured  your  employer  will  look  you  over 
with  a  critical  eye  before  he  calls  on  you.  Be  ready  to 
start.  Look  the  part.  Never  neglect  or  become  care- 
less of  your  personal  appearance. 

"Imagine  a  tousle-headed  salesman,  unshaven,  with 
three  days'  growth  of  beard,  soiled  linen,  a  bad  breath, 
tobacco-stained  fingers,  clothes  wrinkled  as  if  he  had 
slept  in  them,  run  down  shoes,  and  a  greasy,  soiled  hat. 
A  little  far-fetched,  but  it's  a  composite  picture  of  sales- 
men to  be  seen  every  day. 

"Be  neat,  tidy,  and  clean.  Look  the  part  of  a  suc- 
cessful seller.  Make  up  your  mind  it's  a  fact  that  ap- 
pearance inspires  confidence  or  a  lack  of  confidence; 

Then  act  accordingly!  It  mil  increase  your  sales." 

Personal  Character. 

But  personal  appearance  is,  after  all,  only  a  part  of 
the  salesman's  personality.  It  is  Character  that  counts 
most. 


74  PERSONALITY  OF  THE  SALESMAN. 

Men  grow  in  moral  and  intellectual  strength  only  by 
training  and  the  discipline  of  the  faculties. 

There  is  no  limit  to  the  cultivation  of  character.  Wis- 
dom, courtesy,  honor,  and  industry — all  these  are  fea- 
tures of  character  that  can  be  cultivated  while  one  is 
training  the  intellect  or  mentality  for  a  given  object 
or  purpose  in  life.  A  man's  character  is  the  result  of 
organization  and  education. 

In  order  to  grow  broadly  and  nobly  in  personality, 
we  must  first  set  ourselves  high  and  lofty  ideals.  We 
must  cultivate  the  habit  of  receiving  good  impressions, 
in  order  to  create  a  good  impression  ourselves. 

There  is  a  strong  distinction  to  be  drawn  between 
character  and  reputation.  Real  character  stands  like 
a  rock,  as  a  sure  foundation  on  which  to  build  business 
success.  Men  of  character  will  not  indulge  in  subter- 
fuge or  deceit. 

It  is  character  alone  that  makes  knowledge,  skill,  and 
wealth  a  help  rather  than  a  harm  to  those  who  possess 
them.  It  is  character  alone  that  will  enable  a  salesman 
to  reach  his  highest  development  and  exercise  the  high- 
est degree  of  selling  power. 

Some  of  the  factors  of  character  which  conduce  to- 
ward supremacy  in  Salesmanship  may  be  enumerated 
as  follows:  1,  Intelligence;  2,  Tact;  3,  Self-control; 
4,  Courtesy;  5,  Cheerfulness;  6,  Earnestness. 

Use  of  the  Intellect. 

Intelligence  must  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  train- 
ing of  character,  because  intelligent  application  is  nec- 
essary in  every  kind  of  work.  Guided  by  his  intellect, 
the  salesman  will  seek  all  possible  knowledge  regarding 
his  goods,  learn  to  use  his  powers  of  observation  and  to 


PERSONALITY  OF  THE  SALESMAN.  75 

discriminate  between  customers  of  various  kinds,  and 
obtain  clear  ideas  of  men  and  things. 

"Nothing  is  more  pitiable  than  to  plead  ignorance 
when  knowledge  is  an  essential  condition  of  ability  to 
perform  a  duty.  Nothing  is  more  contemptible  than 
to  plead  ignorance  under  the  implication  that  knowledge 
is  not  worth  having.  .  .  .  Thus  shall  we  really  un- 
derstand that  knowledge  is  worth  seeking  and  that 
ignorance  is  culpable;  that  the  search  for  knowledge  is 
progress,  but  that  ignorance  is  stagnation ;  that  he  who 
might  know  what  he  ought  to  know,  but  does  not,  is 
unworthy  of  his  manhood." 

The  expert  salesman  manifests  his  intelligence  by  his 
knowledge,  both  of  human  nature  and  of  the  merchan- 
dise he  has  to  sell. 

Tact  Makes  Friends. 

Tact,  so  necessary  in  the  character  of  a  successful 
salesman,  must  be  cultivated.  For  this  purpose,  social 
intercourse  and  experience  in  affairs  are  equally  neces- 
sary. The  tactful  person  shows  both  wisdom  and  con- 
sideration for  others.  Tact  is  the  saying  and  doing 
of  the  proper  thing  for  the  occasion.  It  makes  friends, 
helps  to  sell  goods  and  to  keep  customers,  promotes  and 
maintains  goodwill.  It  is  not  so  much  what  is  said  as 
how  it  is  said  that  indicates  tact  in  a  salesman;  not  so 
much  what  he  does  as  how  he  does  it;  not  words,  but 
tones ;  not  actions,  but  manner. 

Real  tact  is  sincere ;  it  does  not  deceive.  A  person  of 
true  tactfulness  is  a  person  of  culture  and  is  honest  in 
his  consideration  for  others. 


76  PERSONALITY  OF  THE  SALESMAN. 

The  Armor  of  Self -Control. 

Self-control. — It  is  possible  for  every  salesman  to 
manage  and  control  his  faculties  and  temperament  by 
the  aid  of  intellect.  Self-control  is  necessary  to  guide 
one  in  the  path  of  right  behavior  under  all  circum- 
stances, but  self-control  is  often  not  gained  without  a 
struggle.  It  may  be  the  result  of  rigid  self -discipline 
and  of  many  ''silent  hours  of  struggle  and  culture,"  but 
the  reward  is  worth  the  struggle. 

The  salesman  who  gains  mastery  over  himself  enjoys 
comfort  in  all  his  activities,  while  they  who  lack  self- 
mastery  are  subject  to  constant  petty  vexations. 

In  all  branches  of  Salesmanship,  wholesale  and  re- 
tail, many  petty  annoyances  and  causes  for  irritation 
are  encountered  daily,  but  the  self-controlled  salesman 
is  able  to  rise  superior  to  all  these  comparative  trifles. 
He  can  brush  them  aside  by  the  power  of  his  will,  so 
that  they  cease  to  be  any  cause  of  worry. 

The  real  or  fancied  grievances  of  customers  must  be 
met  in  the  spirit  of  calm  consideration.  Anger  is  sub- 
dued by  calmness. 

Impolite  and  overbearing  persons  will  be  met  with 
daily,  but  the  well-mannered,  self-controlled  salesman  is 
able  to  disarm  them.  Lofty  minds  can  afford  to  turn 
aside  unpleasant  incidents  with  honor  and  often  with  a 
tact  and  gracefulness  calculated  to  make  boorish  offend- 
ers ashamed  of  themselves. 

Self-control  is  acquired  by  mental  discipline.  Tact 
is  acquired  by  intelligent  intercourse  with  others  in  a 
social  and  business  way.  The  salesman  who  possesses 
both  these  qualities  in  their  higher  development  will  al- 
ways be  able  to  preserve  his  self-respect  and  to  transact 


PERSONALITY  OF  THE  SALESMAN.  TT 

his  business  harmoniously.  He  will  compel  the  respect 
of  others,  make  and  keep  friends,  and  earn  the  good- will 
which  is  a  valuable  asset  in  business. 

"The  rules  of  debate  do  not  apply  to  business,"  says 
a  master  of  Salesmanship,  "but  the  spirit  of  controversy 
must  be  subdued  by  tolerance  and  conciliation.  No 
matter  how  unjust  or  sweeping  the  statements  of  a  cus- 
tomer may  be,  it  must  be  realized  that  he  holds  the  po- 
sition of  a  privileged  character,  under  stress  of  circum- 
stances, and  by  the  right  of  might.  It  is  clearly  for 
the  salesman  to  maintain  a  spirit  of  cheerful  optimism, 
based  upon  the  knowledge  of  his  business  and  the  real- 
ization of  the  power  behind  a  broad,  magnanimous,  and 
impersonal  view." 

Value  of  Politeness. 

Courtesy. — It  seems  almost  unnecessary  to  enlarge 
upon  the  value  of  courtesy  in  Salesmanship.  The  very 
fact  that  a  salesman  is,  or  should  be,  seeking  to  get  a 
customer  to  do  something  which  he  (the  salesman) 
wishes  him  to  do,  implies  that  the  salesman  will  be  as 
pleasing  and  agreeable  as  possible  in  his  manner  and 
speech  in  the  presence  of  the  customer. 

The  injunction  to  be  courteous  at  all  times  may  be 
unnecessary  in  the  case  of  the  salesman  who  sells  goods 
at  wholesale  or  on  the  road,  who  visits  the  customer  in 
his  store  or  office,  and  whose  attitude  is  partly  that  of 
one  seeking  first  the  favor  of  an  interview,  and  then 
trying  to  influence  the  will  of  the  person  interviewed; 
but  in  the  case  of  retail  salesmen  and — must  it  be  con- 
fessed?— retail  saleswomen,  too,  common  courtesy  is  too 
often  conspicuous  by  absence. 


78  PERSONALITY  OF  THE  SALESMAN. 

Courtesy  in  retail  business  demands  "a  pleasant, 
agreeable,  and  sincere  manner  of  speech  and  conduct 
toward  all  with  whom  we  come  in  contact;  whether  a 
customer  at  the  counter,  with  whom  we  deal  directly, 
a  visitor  to  the  store  who  may  simply  inspect  goods  and 
ask  questions,  or  a  companion  and  fellow-worker  whose 
aims  and  interests  are  allied  with  our  own  to  make  the 
business  we  represent  a  success." 

Is  it  possible  at  all  times  to  be  courteous  and  polite 
in  business?  The  answer  is  undoubtedly  "Yes,"  for 
those  who  cultivate  tact  and  self-control  or  who  enjoy 
the  inestimable  benefit  of  good  breeding  in  its  best  sense. 
A  strict  adherence  to  the  Golden  Rule  will  be  found  ex- 
tremely useful  to  retail  salespeople  inclined  to  doubt 
what  their  conduct  should  be  under  certain  circum- 
stances. 

Be  Cheerful  and  Prompt. 

Cheerfulness. — A  cheerful  air  always  accompanies  a 
cheerful  habit  of  thought,  and  as  cheerfulness  is  most 
desirable  in  business  as  in  social  intercourse,  it  is  well 
for  a  salesman  to  cultivate  the  spirit  of  cheerfulness. 

Promptness  of  speech  and  action  is  also  very  desirable. 
It  betokens  confidence  in  oneself  and  in  the  goods  one 
has  to  sell.  Promptness  in  seeing  a  customer  and  in 
attending  to  the  customer's  wants  is  especially  valuable 
in  a  retail  salesman. 

Every  store  in  the  country  has  its  picked  salespeople 
who  are  preferred  by  the  trade.  Customers  will  ask 
to  be  served  by  them,  and  if  such  salesmen  and  sales- 
women be  investigated,  it  will  be  found  in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten  that  they  are  preferred  by  customers  because 


PERSONALITY  OF  THE  SALESMAN.  79 

their  manner  inspires  confidence  and  they  are  prompt  to 
take  an  interest  in  the  customer's  wants. 

Earnestness  of  Purpose. 

Earnestness  in  one's  business  is  another  prime  requi- 
site of  Salesmanship  character.  A  salesman's  vocation 
must  not  only  be  of  direct  and  vital  interest  to  him,  but 
his  earnestness  of  purpose  must  be  apparent  to  others. 
Earnestness  may  manifest  itself  in  enthusiastic  presen- 
tation of  the  goods,  in  evident  eagerness  to  please  the 
customer,  in  a  thousand  and  one  ways  that  will  be  readily 
recognized  by  others ;  but  it  must  be  present  in  the  sales- 
man or  he  had  better  change  his  business.  If  he  lacks 
honesty,  honor  and  earnestness,  he  simply  courts  fail- 
ure; but  possessing  the  items  of  character  referred  to 
above,  together  with  courage,  endurance,  and  loyalty  to 
himself  and  to  his  employers,  he  is  on  the  sure  road  to 
success. 

It  may  be  repeated  that  in  building  up  character  for 
Salesmanship,  and  creating  a  personality  based  upon 
character,  the  salesman  is  investing  his  time  and  energies 
in  stock  that  will  pay  compound  interest.  The  upbuild- 
ing of  a  good  business  character  returns  progressive  re- 
wards, and  its  maturity  is  a  delightful  and  profitable 
possession. 


"If  the  power  to  do  hard  work  is  not  a  talent,  it  is  the 
best  possible  substitute  for  it."— Garfleld. 


"The  true  way  to  conquer  circumstances  is  to  be  a 
greater  circumstance  to  yourself. " — Phillips. 


"Try  your  chances  though  a  million  have  failed.  Their 
failure  creates  no  precedent  for  you.  "—Whiting. 


CHAPTER  V. 
THE  SCIENTIFIC  SALESMAN. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  here  to  enter  at  any  length 
into  the  metaphysical  features  of  modern  Salesmanship. 
These  are  sometimes  treated  in  s  ich  a  way  as  to  confuse 
the  novice  and  lead  him  to  believe  that  it  is  necessary 
for  him  almost  to  hypnotize  a  prospective  customer  be- 
fore he  can  close  a  sale. 

The  true  science  of  Salesmanship  does  not  deal  with 
mysterious  mental  influences,  but  rather  with  well-recog- 
nized principles  of  intellect  and  action,  which,  when  put 
into  practice,  aided  by  experience,  bring  success. 

We  shall  deal  later  with  the  elements  of  what  is  com- 
monly called  the  psychology  of  Salesmanship,  but  the 
student  should  disabuse  his  mind  of  any  idea  that  it  is 
necessary  to  take  a  course  in  hypnotic  suggestion  or  to 
practice  any  sort  of  quackery  in  order  to  make  a  success 
in  selling  goods.  Such  an  idea  is  far  removed  from  the 
truth.  Salesmanship  is  not  a  mystic  science.  It  re- 
quires no  occult  qualities.  It  is  a  practical  branch  of 
human  knowledge  based  on  common  sense  principles 
as  old  as  the  hills. 

Scientific  Salesmanship,  rightly  so-called,  is  the  art 
of  selling  goods  with  the  knowledge  derived  by  study 
of  approved  methods. 

The  clerk  who  merely  hands  you  the  package  of 
breakfast  food  which  you  ask  for,  and  receives  your 
dime  in  exchange  therefor,  is  not  a  scientific  salesman, 
Out  an  "ordinary"  salesman — and  may  be  a  very  ordi- 

I.iM..   vol.  2—6  ^l 


82  THE   SCIENTIFIC    SALESMAN. 

nary  one  at  that!  His  ability  to  sell  goods  is  not  tested 
in  the  slightest  degree  by  the  transaction  mentioned. 
An  automaton  can  do  the  same  as  he  does.  Automatic 
machines  do  it  every  day,  and  they  illustrate  ordinary 
salesmanship  to  a  nicety.  They  make  the  simple  ex- 
change of  merchandise  for  its  equivalent  in  money. 

Selling  machines  are,  perhaps,  in  some  respects  su- 
perior to  the  ordinary  salesman.  You  cannot  tell  by 
looking  at  an  ordinary  salesman,  nor  gather  from  his 
conversation  as  a  rule,  what  goods  he  has  to  sell.  He 
does  not  advertise  his  wares,  while  most  automatic  sell- 
ing machines  do.  An  automatic  machine  will  sell  more 
goods  under  favorable  circumstances  of  location  than 
a  live  "ordinary"  salesman  whose  interest  in  his  busi- 
ness is  confined  to  an  exact  knowledge  of  quitting-time 
and  payday. 

The  individuals  who  make  up  this  class  of  salesmen, 
says  a  well-known  sales  manager,  are  a  drug  on  the  mar- 
ket and  altogether  too  numerous  a  quantity.  The  title 
of  "salesman"  when  applied  to  them,  carries  with  it  no 
especial  significance. 

Scientific  Salesmanship  Involves  Study. 

To  acquire  scientific  salesmanship  there  must  be  study 
and  application.  The  study  must  be  continuous,  for  con- 
ditions constantly  change  in  selling  and  one  cannot  al- 
ways be  sold  a  bill  of  goods  in  the  same  way  as  another. 

The  scientific  salesman  considers  all  the  special  factors 
entering  into  each  individual  sale;  carefully  applies  his 
mind  to  grasp  the  special  surroundings  and  the  con- 
ditions of  each  sale  he  makes  or  tries  to  make ;  and  when 
he  meets  success,  studies  to  find  a  method  by  which  he 


THE    SCIENTIFIC    SALESMAN.  8B 

can  repeat  the  sale  with  less  effort  or  at  less  expense. 
In  short,  he  studies  continuously  to  find  better  methods, 
and  thus  to  increase  his  selling  ability. 

Some  of  the  characteristics  of  the  scientific  salesman 
may  be  enumerated  as  follows: 

1.    Education. 

This  does  not  depend  so  much  upon  early  advantages 
of  attendance  at  high  schools  or  colleges,  as  upon  the 
solid  basis  of  a  good  grammar  school  education,  which 
is  desirable  in  all  cases.  Where  it  is  lacking,  the  scien- 
tific salesman  supplies  his  deficiencies  as  soon  as  he  can 
by  private  study.  A  good  education  in  the  ordinary 
branches  of  knowledge  is  a  splendid  foundation  on  which 
to  build  all  progress  in  business  education. 

2.    Application. 

In  studying  any  branch  of  business,  especially  Sales- 
manship, there  must  be  as  earnest  and  faithful  applica- 
tion to  the  work  as  one  would  give  to  a  conscientious 
study  of  languages,  literature,  the  law,  medicine,  or 
theology,  in  preparation  for  a  professional  career. 

Always  remember  that  the  difference  between  the 
scientific  salesman  and  the  ordinary  salesman  is  that  the 
former  makes  a  continuous  study  of  his  business,  while 
the  latter  does  not  deem  it  necessary.  It  is  for  this  rea- 
son that  a  business  can  often  get  along  without  the 
ordinary  salesman.  He  is  not  necessary. 

Mediocre  salesmen  abound  on  every  hand.  As  al- 
ready said,  they  glut  the  market,  while  men  possessing 
fewer  original  advantages  of  education,  but  who  ac- 


84  TKE    SCIENTIFIC    SAlJEiMAIf. 

quire  skill  in  selling  goods  by  study  and  application, 
are  ever  in  demand  by  merchants,  manufacturers,  and 
the  great  commercial  concerns  that  distinguish  the  pres- 
ent stage  of  business  development.  There  is  nothing 
at  all  to  prevent  any  clerk  or  mechanic  from  becoming 
a  scientific  salesman. 

3.    Personal  Qualities. 

The  studious  salesman  examines  not  only  the  char- 
acteristics of  his  customer,  but  his  own  personal  char- 
acter. He  strives  to  discover  his  failings  and  defects, 
and  endeavors  to  correct  them  by  the  power  of  his  will. 
He  takes  good  care  of  his  personal  appearance;  studies 
the  proper  form  of  address  and  methods  of  approach 
for  individual  cases.  He  is  courteous  and  polite  under 
all  circumstances.  He  tries  to  keep  his  customers  by 
careful  and  considerate  conduct  towards  them.  If  he 
has  faults  of  disposition,  he  seeks  to  amend  them,  so  as  to 
render  his  presence  agreeable  and  welcome. 

4.    Self-Control. 

The  importance  of  self-control  has  already  been  des- 
cribed. The  scientific  salesman  must  control  his  temper 
and  guard  his  conversation,  so  as  to  avoid  giving  offense. 
He  must  be  ready  instantly  to  change  his  tactics  when 
he  finds  he  is  pursuing  a  wrong  course  with  any  "pros- 
pect." He  must  preserve  his  dignity  and  self-respect, 
even  when  circumstances  try  his  temper. 

5.    A  Student  of  Men. 

The  successful  salesman  must  be  a  student  of  human 
nature.  He  must  be  able  to  read  men. 

He  sizes  up  his  customer  and  the  conditions  for  an 
interview.  If  the  occasion  be  not  favorable,  he  cleverly 


THE    SCIENTIFIC    SALMMAN.  85 

withdraws,  after  preparing  the  way  for  a  future  call. 
He  is  able  to  get  at  men  that  others  find  hard  to 
approach. 

He  does  not  approach  everybody  in  the  same  way,  but 
uses  discrimination  in  meeting  different  kinds  of  pros- 
pects. He  is  clever  in  getting  out. 

In  short,  he  uses  "science,"  or  the  knowledge  acquired 
from  study  of  men  and  things. 

6.    A  Cultivated  Memory. 

The  scientific  salesman  is  careful  to  cultivate  his  mem- 
ory for  faces,  names,  and  the  innumerable  points  covered 
in  keeping  track  of  customers  and  prospects.  He  re- 
cords his  impressions  of  others  and  is  usually  able  to 
recall  them  when  meeting  them  again. 

Cultivation  of  the  memory  to  the  point  of  remember- 
ing all  the  desirable  facts  regarding  every  customer 
met  with  in  a  busy  salesman's  life,  is  of  course  impos- 
sible; hence,  the  scientific  salesman  aids  his  memory  by 
keeping  permanent  records  of  prospects  and  filing  them 
conveniently  for  reference. 

His  motto  is:     * 'Memory  and  Memoranda." 

7.  Shrewdness  and  Honesty. 

The  salesman  must  be  sharp-witted  and  shrewd,  but 
he  must  not  indulge  in  deceit.  He  must  seek  to  be  truth- 
ful and  honest  in  all  his  statements — it  is  the  only  safe 
way. 

8.  Knowledge  of  the  Goods. 

He  must  study  his  goods  and  also  the  goods  and 
methods  of  competitors.  The  better  he  knows  compet- 
ing goods,  the  better  he  will  be  able  to  present  the  su- 
perior points  of  his  own. 


86  THE   SCIENTIFIC    SALESMAN. 

The  scientific  salesman  never  forgets  that  he  has  com- 
petition— that  clever  minds  and  keen  wits  are  opposed 
to  him  in  the  battle  for  business.  He  does  not  under- 
rate his  competitor  or  attack  his  competitor's  goods,  as 
a  means  of  selling  his  own.  He  seeks  to  make  friends 
rather  then  enemies,  even  among  his  competitors,  but 
gains  all  possible  knowledge  that  will  aid  him  in  selling 
his  own  goods.  He  is  always  open  to  learn  new  methods 
and  does  not  rest  satisfied  with  his  own,  even  though 
they  may  be  proving  successful,  but  seeks  constantly 
to  improve  both  himself  and  his  methods. 

9.    Industry  and  Perseverance. 

The  scientific  salesman  is  both  industrious  and  per- 
severing. He  is  often  called  persistent.  To  be  "turned 
down"  by  a  customer  does  not  end  the  matter  so  far  as  he 
is  concerned.  He  studies  out  the  reasons  for  his  fail- 
ure, and  when  he  has  satisfied  himself  just  why  the 
prospective  customer  refuses  to  buy,  he  builds  a  new 
plan  of  attack  and  goes  back  to  try  again. 

He  loses  no  time.  He  devotes  thought  to  his  busi- 
ness outside  of  his  actual  working  hours. 

He  regards  the  interests  of  "the  house"  as  his  own, 
and  is  loyal  to  his  employers  and  to  superior  officers  in 
the  sales  organization. 

At  the  same  time  he  is  ambitious.  He  is  not  con- 
tent to  let  things  slide.  "Excelsior"  is  his  motto,  and 
he  is  sure  to  climb  higher. 

10.    Getting  Out  of  Ruts. 

The  expert  salesman  refuses  to  travel  in  ruts.  He 
learns  his  business  so  thoroughly  that  he  is  able  to  de- 
vise new  methods  of  selling,  and  to  put  them  in  practice 


THE   SCIENTIFIC    SALESMAN.  87 

in  his  own  case.  He  reports  successful  new  methods  to 
"the  house"  for  the  benefit  of  his  fellow  salesmen,  and 
thereby  attracts  notice. 

By  constantly  adding  to  his  knowledge  of  the  science 
of  Salesmanship,  he  increases  his  selling  power  and  adds 
strength  to  his  house  by  extending  its  trade  and  cement- 
ing its  business  connections. 

Salesmanship  may  not  be  developed  by  all  students 
in  the  same  degree,  but  every  man  can  acquire  his  own 
degree  of  scientific  selling  ability  by  patient,  enduring 
effort;  by  bending  all  his  faculties  and  energies  to  the 
object  of  selling. 

All  such  efforts  are  well  worth  while.  The  ordinary 
salesman  can  make  himself  a  scientific  salesman.  The 
scientific  salesman  can  become  expert,  and  each  adds 
to  the  respect  in  which  he  is  held  through  this  exercise 
of  individual  effort  in  the  right  direction. 


1  'If  the  history  of  our  citizens  of  wealth  was  written  we 
would  find  that  fully  three-fourths  of  them  have  risen 
from  comparatively  small  beginnings  to  their  present  sta- 
tions/'—Dodge. 


" There  are  three  kinds  of  people  in  the  world:  the 
wills,  the  won'ts  and  the  can'ts.  The  first  accomplish 
everything,  the  second  oppose  everything,  the  third  fail 
in  everything." — Electric  Magazine. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE 

The  qualifications  for  a  successful  wholesale  salesman 
have  been  fully  described  in  the  preceding  chapters. 
All  permanent  success  is  based  on  character,  knowledge 
of  the  goods,  and  ability  to  secure  attention,  to  make 
a  proper  demonstration,  and  to  cause  favorable  decision 
on  the  part  of  the  buyer. 

The  life  of  a  wholesale  salesman,  especially  of  one 
who  travels,  has  a  decided  attraction  for  many  young 
men,  but  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  it  is  always  a  bed 
of  roses. 

While  the  principles  upon  which  salesmanship  of  all 
kinds  is  based  remain  the  same,  the  conditions  under 
which  salesmanship  knowledge  may  be  exercised  vary 
greatly  with  different  lines  of  goods,  and  special  train- 
ing in  the  home  office  or  store  is  usually  necessary  before 
a  wholesale  salesman  is  ready  to  meet  his  "trade." 

Every  wholesale  house  is  divided  into  numerous  de- 
partments, and  before  a  wholesale  salesman  is  equipped 
for  the  road  his  earliest  training  usually  comes  in  one 
of  the  departments  of  the  house  which  he  aspires  to 
represent  as  a  salesman. 

In  the  house  he  may  begin  as  a  stock  clerk  and  thence 
rise  through  the  positions  of  order  clerk  or  floor  sales- 
man, until  he  attracts  attention  and  is  finally  sent  upon 
the  road.  In  the  house  he  learns  the  goods,  learns  to 

89 


90  SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE. 

meet  customers,  exercises  his  faculties,  develops  his  sen- 
sibilities, improves  his  appearance  and  manner,  culti- 
vates courtesy  and  tact,  learns  patience,  caution,  self- 
respect,  and  in  innumerable  ways  fits  himself  for  proper 
representation  of  the  house. 

The  opportunities  for  the  young  man  of  today  who 
wishes  to  rise  through  salesmanship  to  the  higher  posi- 
tions in  commercial  life  are  greater  and  more  numerous 
than  ever  before.  He  can  seek  advancement  through 
the  positions  of  department  manager  or  buyer  to  the  sales 
manager's  desk,  and  the  rewards  of  successful  sales  man- 
agers are  practically  unlimited.  -  Salaries  equal  to  that 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States  are  by  no  means 
infrequent  in  modern  business,  and  it  is  only  a  step  from 
the  desk  of  a  sales  manager  to  that  of  a  general  mana- 
ger or  a  full-fledged  partner  in  the  business.  With 
knowledge,  confidence,  judgment  and  courage,  a  whole- 
sale salesman  may  climb  to  the  top  of  the  highest  tree. 

Turning  Failure  Into  Success. 

"The  up-to-date  salesman  turns  failure  into  success 
by  working  on  the  principle  that,  taking  the  average  of 
his  work,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  luck  or  chance.  He 
realizes  that  selling  goods  is  not  a  haphazard  jumble  in 
which  men  leap  blindly  into  success.  He  knows  that 
salesmanship  is  a  science  with  an  underlying  philosophy 
and  that,  sure  as  the  sun  rises  and  sets,  if  his  line  is 
right  and  he  fails  to  sell,  somewhere  in  his  manner  or  in 
his  method  there  is  friction.  And  just  as  a  machinist, 
who  has  assembled  a  new  engine  and  located  trouble, 
tightens  a  nut  here  and  loosens  a  screw  there  until  the 
engine  is  in  apple-pie  working  order,  so  the  modern 


SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE.  91 

salesman  studies  and  analyzes  himself  and  his  methods  to 
locate  and  to  correct  his  mistakes. 

"If  he  discovers  he  is  not  getting  a  proper  reception 
upon  meeting  customers,  he  concludes  there  must  be  a 
flaw  in  his  approach  which  prevents  him  from  appealing 
to  the  average  business  man.  If  he  finds  he  is  properly 
received,  but  that  he  fails  to  arouse  interest  in  his  sam- 
ples, he  decides,  perhaps,  that  he  needs  a  broadside  of 
proper  talking  points ;  or,  maybe,  that  he  is  putting  sell- 
ing instead  of  buying  arguments  to  the  front.  And 
if  he  succeeds  up  to  this  point,  but  is  weak  on  clinching 
sales,  he  may  find  he  has  arranged  his  arguments  back- 
ward, firing  his  big  guns  first  and  obscuring  the  effect 
with  smoke  from  his  secondary  batteries. 

"How  the  common,  ordinary  man  on  the  firing  line 
scientifically  hunts  his  mistakes,  and  how  he  applies  reme- 
dies until  he  snatches  success  out  of  failure — this  is  an 
interesting  chapter.  For  in  this  greatest  of  all  games 
played  with  living  figures  chock-full  of  human  nature 
there  is  no  general  formula  for  success. 

Watching  Expert  Methods. 

"Perhaps  the  shortest-cut  method  that  a  salesman  uses 
to  correct  his  mistakes  is  to  accompany  a  competent 
brother  salesman  in  order  to  learn  by  observation  how  an 
expert  puts  through  a  sale.  Or  else  he  reverses  this, 
the  expert  accompanying  the  salesman  so  that  he  may 
stand  by  and  see  and  listen  and  give  subsequent  criti- 
cism. 

"Not  only  the  green  man  uses  this  method  to  break 
himself  in.  Often  as  not  the  veteran  who  has  taken  up 
a  line  strange  to  him  needs  this  sort  of  coaching  be- 


91  XEULCf  G  AT  WHOLE&AU. 

fore  he  can  succeed.  The  cracker  jack  man  who  has  been 
handling  staples,  for  instance,  would  have  to  learn  all 
over  again  until  he  mastered  the  intricacies  surround- 
ing the  selling  of  such  a  line  as  luxuries,  for  which  he 
must  first  create  a  demand.  Similarly,  the  man  who 
sells  fifty-thousand-dollar-life-insurance  policies  to  bank 
presidents  would  have  to  serve  an  apprenticeship  before 
he  could  make  his  salt  canvassing  weekly-installment 
insurance  from  house  to  house.  It  makes  a  difference, 
even,  whether^,  man  is  used  to  selling  to  the  little  retail 
storekeepers  or  whether  he  sells  to  the  men  behind  the 
leviathan  shops. 

Selling  to  Expert  Buyers. 

"This  was  the  case,"  says  Mr.  A.  W.  Rolker  in  The 
Saturday  Evening  Post,  "with  a  Chicago  wholesale 
dress-silks  salesman  who  found  that  he  had  to  learn  to 
sell  all  over  again  and  who,  finally,  was  put  on  the  right 
track  by  a  brother  salesman.  This  dress-silks  salesman 
had  worked  his  way  up  from  a  stockboy  and  had  built 
up  a  good  local  trade  for  himself  among  small  shop- 
keepers. But  when  he  was  promoted  and  given  a  trade 
which  included  the  buyers  of  several  department  stores 
he  found  himself  up  against  a  class  of  customers  almost 
diametrically  opposite  to  his  old  ones,  and  he  failed  ut- 
terly. Instead  of  selling  to  these  men  as  his  predecessor 
had  done,  his  sales  fell  off  so  that  he  was  called  into  the 
office  of  the  head  of  the  firm  to  be  talked  to.  That  made 
him  desperate,  and  he  went  to  the  head  salesman  with 
his  tale  of  woe. 

"  'I  want  to  ask  you  if  you  won't  stand  by  and  watch 
me  try  to  put  through  a  sale  and  tell  me  where  I'm 
wrong,'  he  concluded. 


AT  WHOLESALE.  /      96 

"Next  day,  when  the  two  reached  the  sidewalk  after 
a  buyer  had  turned  the  salesman  down,  the  head  sales- 
man took  his  junior  in  hand. 

:  'Let  others  tell  you  a  salesman  is  a  good  talker,'  he 
said.  'I  tell  you  the  best  salesman  is  the  man  who  knows 
when  to  keep  still.  You  can  talk  and  joke  and  auto- 
suggest  just  as  much  as  you  see  fit  to  the  retail  man. 
He's  on  a  more  or  less  intimate  footing  with  his  cus- 
tomers and  is  apt  to  like  to  do  business  that  way.  But 
when  you  come  to  a  buyer  who  knows  his  business, 
whose  time  is  money,  whose  job  depends  upon  his  own 
cold  judgment  and  whose  head  is  full  of  responsibilities, 
you're  an  automaton — a  slot  machine  in  breeches. 

1  'Have  your  samples  all  ready.  Have  only  good  num- 
bers— the  best  on  top.  Then  hold  your  tongue  until 
you're  asked  questions.  Let  him  do  the  talking.  He 
wants  to  see,  not  to  listen.  It's  what  he  thinks,  and  he 
doesn't  care  a  rap  what  you  think.  In  the  end,  if  you 
can't  help  it,  say  "Thank  you,"  gather  up  your  samples 
and  leave  tying  them  up  until  you  get  into  an  outer 
office ;  and,  take  my  word  for  it,  before  you  know  it  he'll 
have  you  down  for  a  mighty  shrewd  salesman,  for  you'll 
show  him  more  real  meat  in  five  minutes  than  ten  ordi- 
nary men  will  in  ten.' 

The  Use  of  "Leaders." 

"That  salesman  caught  the  idea  of  his  adviser  exactly. 
In  time,  to  emphasize  his  invariable  brevity,  he  developed 
a  personal  sales  method,  none  other  than  that  used  by  the 
big  stores  throughout  the  land.  'Leaders'  he  uses,  con- 
sisting only  of  the  cream  of  his  samples.  As  a  rule, 
he  shows  these  only.  Now  and  then,  however,  he  brings 


94  SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE. 

numbers  that  are  'general  possibilities,'  and  he  works  in 
a  lot  more  than  his  share  of  these.  On  his  list  now  he  has 
no  one  but  the  buyers  of  the  big  department  stores. 

Forcing  the  Buyer's  Attention. 

"Frequently,  when  a  salesman  applies  the  probe  to 
his  methods  he  finds  that  all  he  needs  is  a  little  higher- 
pressure  steam.  This  is  especially  true  when  his  field 
is  among  men  like  department-store  buyers  who, 
throughout  the  daily  buying  session,  are  besieged  by 
scores  of  salesmen  all  offering  the  same  line.  Generally, 
buyers  of  this  sort  limit  themselves  to  doing  business 
with  ten  or,  maybe,  twenty  salesmen  representing  houses 
with  which,  as  experience  has  shown,  the  buyer  is  able 
to  deal  satisfactorily.  Among  the  hundreds  of  other 
salesmen  who  call  on  the  buyer  throughout  a  week  the 
buyer  realizes  there  may  be  one  or  another  that  has  ex- 
actly what  he  is  looking  for.  But  time  and  energy  are 
lacking  to  sift  this  one  man  out  of  the  common  flock. 
And  so  most  of  the  salesmen  are  left  in  the  anteroom  to 
sit  and  toast  their  shins  and  to  swear  softly  while  the 
card  of  a  late-arriving  favorite  son  gives  him  prefer- 
ence over  first  comers.  In  time,  it  is  assumed,  these 
salesmen  will  conclude  to  warm  benches  up  the  street. 
But  it  is  in  a  case  like  this  that  the  wide-awake  salesman 
decides  that  all  he  needs  for  admission  to  the  front  row 
is  to  prove  to  a  buyer  by  demonstration  that  he  himself 
believes  his  goods  worth  an  extraordinary  effort. 

Keeping  the  Customer. 

"The  salesman  whose  line  brings  him  again  and  again 
in  contact  with  the  same  buyers  does  not  find  it  difficult 
to  turn  his  customers  into  friends.  In  the  course  of 


SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE.  95 

time  a  word  dropped  here  or  there  informs  him  as  to 
the  politics,  the  hobbies  and  the  pet  schemes  of  his  cus- 
tomers, from  missionary  work  to  cockfighting.  All 
these  little  human  weaknesses  the  salesman  knows  how 
to  turn  into  dollars.  He  keeps  card  indexes,  recording 
with  the  names  of  his  customers  all  useful  little  side- 
shoots  of  information  that  enable  him  to  draw  himself 
personally  closer  to  his  man.  If  John  Hunter,  gen- 
eral storekeeper  at  Smith's  Corners  in  the  backwoods  of 
Connecticut,  is  an  ardent  fisherman,  from  away  off  in 
San  Francisco,  where  the  salesman  has  gone  to  visit  his 
people,  he  may  receive  a  clipping  of  a  fish  story  cut  out 
of  a  San  Francisco  newspaper.  In  short,  this  salesman 
seeds  and  fertilizes  friendship.  Later  he  comes  with 
his  binders  and  corn-cutters  and  hay-loaders. 

"On  the  other  hand,  the  salesman  whose  work  puts 
him  continually  in  contact  with  strange  faces  works 
along  different  lines.  He  must  rely  upon  appearance 
and  manner  to  gain  him  a  hearing." 

It  Pays  to  Be  Obliging. 

'Whatever  your  business,  the  way  to  hold  your  cus- 
tomers is  to  treat  them  as  well  as  you  know  how,  to  ac- 
commodate them  in  every  way  possible,  to  be  courteous, 
considerate,  obliging,"  says  Dr.  Orison  Swett  Harden, 
the  accomplished  editor  of  "Success." 

"Many  large  jobbing  concerns  now  find  that  it  pays 
them  to  look  after  their  customers,  to  assist  them,  if 
necessary,  financially  and  in  other  ways.  It  pays  a  big 
jobbing  house  to  assist  good  customers  when  in  trouble, 
to  do  them  a  good  turn.  I  recently  heard  the  manager 


96  SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE. 

of  a  large  concern  say  that  they  had  just  helped  a  cus- 
tomer to  get  a  thirty  thousand  dollar  mortgage  on  his 
property.  He  wasn't  able  to  get  the  accommodation 
at  the  banks  or  on  a  strictly  business  basis,  but  through 
their  influence  he  was  enabled  to  raise  the  money. 

"Large  concerns,  more  and  more,  are  finding  it  to  their 
advantage  to  help  customers  in  every  possible  way.  A 
great  many  small  houses,  especially  in  the  West,  have 
come  to  look  upon  the  jobbing  houses  they  trade  with 
as  real  friends,  and  whenever  they  are  hard  pushed  for 
money,  the  jobbers  are  the  first  people  they  go  to. 
Hundreds  of  Western  concerns  owe  their  prosperity  to- 
day to  the  jobbing  houses  which  carried  them  through 
droughts  and  hard  times,  when  they  really  could  not 
have  secured  the  accommodation  they  needed  upon 
purely  business  grounds.  But  usually  a  customer  ac- 
commodated in  this  way  remains  a  life  customer  and  is 
a  perpetual  advertisement  for  the  concern  which  has 
helped  him,  always  saying  a  good  word  for  them  when 
he  can." 

11  At  Wholesale." 

Mr.  A.  C.  Bartlett,  of  the  widely-known  wholesale 
hardware  firm  of  Hibbard,  Spencer  &  Bartlett,  Chicago, 
gave  the  students  of  the  University  of  Chicago  the  bene- 
fit of  his  experience  in  selling  goods  at  wholesale  in  an 
interesting  address,  entitled  "At  Wholesale,"  which  was 
in  part  as  follows:* 

"The  university  is  a  wholesale  educational  establish- 
ment with  retail  departments.  Knowledge,  packed  in 
gray  matter,  is  collected  from  all  divisions  of  the  globe 

*  From  "Lectures  on  Commerce." — Chicago,  1907,  The  University  of 
Chicago  Press. 


SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE.  97 

and  here  distributed  at  wholesale  to  such  patrons  as 
teachers,  professors,  and  preachers,  who  in  turn  deal  it 
out  to  pupils,  parishioners,  and  others  in  quantities  to 
meet  individual  requirements,  and  at  retail  to  the  young 
ladies  and  gentlemen  whose  acquisitions  are  for  their 
own  personal  use  or  benefit. 

"To  the  five  senses  the  material  collected  and  ware- 
housed at  the  university  and  shipped  to  the  markets  trib- 
utary to  it  (which,  in  this  case,  include  the  entire  civilized 
world)  is  not  so  tangible  as  calico,  molasses,  and  nails, 
but  in  some  quarters  is  deemed  almost,  or  quite,  as  es- 
sential to  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  consumers. 

"A  merchant  will  contend  that  no  civilized  being  can 
exist  without  the  use  of  merchandise,  while  large  num- 
bers of  the  human  family  have  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age 
without  being  possessed  of  a  diploma  from  a  university 
or  from  a  college ;  hence,  the  most  useful  men  of  society, 
the  real  benefactors  of  the  race,  are  to  be  found  in  the 
mercantile  class,  and  not  in  the  faculties  of  the  institu- 
tions of  higher  education. 

"Unfortunately  for  the  general  treatment  of  the  sub- 
ject, the  writer  knows  no  business  except  the  one  in  which 
he  is  engaged  (and  that  none  too  well),  namely,  the 
wholesale  hardware,  and  at  the  outset  begs  your  par- 
don if  he  talks  more  about  gimlets  and  fishhooks  than 
about  silks,  satins,  teas,  hats,  caps,  boots,  shoes,  or  books. 

Foundation  of  Success. 

"The  bases  of  a  successful  wholesale  business  are  capi- 
tal; financial  ability;  judgment  of  qualities,  both  of  mer- 
chandise and  men;  a  knowledge  of  present  conditions, 
not  only  local,  but  general;  a  faculty  for  forecasting  fu- 
ture conditions  and  needs;  and  last,  but  not  least,  a  ge- 

I.B.L.  Vol.  2—7 


98  SELLlXtt  AT  WHOLESALE. 

nius  for  organization.  Men  who  each  possess  all  of 
these  qualifications  are  as  scarce  as  fit  candidates  for  al- 
dermen. This  is  an  age  of  specialization  in  business  as 
well  as  in  professions.  When  your  fathers  were  lads, 
the  family  physician  treated  all  manner  of  diseases, 
practiced  surgery  and  dentistry,  and  not  infrequently 
branched  out  into  the  veterinary  field.  At  the  present 
time  the  M.  D.  who  sharpens  your  eyesight  and  improves 
your  hearing  hardly  knows  that  you  are  the  possessor  of 
a  pair  of  lungs.  The  surgeon  who  saws  off  your  leg 
may  not  be  on  speaking  terms  with  his  fellow  practi- 
tioner who  awakens  your  torpid. liver;  while  the  dentist 
who  fills  a  decayed  tooth  sends  you  to  a  professional 
tooth-puller  to  have  a  member  in  a  little  more  decayed 
state  extracted. 

"In  a  wholesale  house  it  is  not  only  necessary,  but  in- 
dispensable, that  either  a  partner  or  officer  in  the  busi- 
ness or  a  trusted  confidential  employee  shall  be  a  re- 
sponsible head  of  each  department  and  of  each  sub-di- 
vision of  that  department.  And  I  want  to  suggest  in 
parenthesis  at  this  point  that  you  promptly  disabuse 
yourselves  of  the  idea,  if  such  you  have,  that  the  oppor- 
tunity for  an  energetic  but  poor  young  man  eventually 
to  rise  to  the  very  head  of  a  large  mercantile  house  is 
not  as  good  as  it  was  a  few  years  ago,  for  that  idea  is 
altogether  erroneous.  As  an  experienced  merchant,  I 
assure  you  that  it  is  less  difficult  today  to  secure  ten 
pounds  of  capital  than  it  is  one  ounce  of  brains.  It  does 
require  more  capital  to  inaugurate  and  conduct  a  busi- 
ness than  it  did  half,  or  even  a  quarter,  century  ago, 
but  it  also  requires  the  possession  of  much  greater  skill, 
intelligence,  and  practical  education  to  successfully  man- 


SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE.  99 

age  a  business  than  it  did  in  the  olden  times.  You  do 
not  begin  the  study  of  language  by  attempting  to  read 
Greek,  but  by  learning  the  English  alphabet,  nor  do  you 
undertake  to  demonstrate  the  binomial  theorem  until 
you  have  mastered  the  multiplication  table.  It  is  only 
the  young  man  inheriting  capital  who  undertakes  to 
begin  his  business  career  at  the  top.  Unless  the  young 
capitalist  has  the  good  sense  to  associate  with  him  trained 
business  men,  his  career  is  inevitably  finished  at  the  bot- 
tom. If  you  have  natural  qualifications  for  a  mercan- 
tile life,  make  thorough  preparation  by  way  of  educa- 
tion; get  your  experience  by  beginning  with  the  veriest 
rudiments  of  practical  business,  and  when  you  are  ready 
to  assume  the  higher  responsibilities,  capital  will  be  seek- 
ing you  rather  than  you  seeking  capital. 

Machinery  of  Wholesaling. 

"In  nij  youthful  days  I  had  a  vague  idea  that  a  whole- 
sale business,  when  fairly  started,  ran  itself;  that  it  was 
a  sort  of  clearing-house  for  the  manufacturer  and  a 
storehouse  for  the  retailer,  from  which  the  latter  drew 
his  supplies  as  needed,  the  jobber  having  little  to  do  but 
to  receive,  display,  and  ship  the  goods,  collect  the  money 
from  his  customers,  remit  a  portion  of  it  to  the  manu- 
facturers, and  grow  rich.  I  learned  from  experience 
(gathered  largely  at  the  expense  of  my  employers)  that 
I  had  not,  as  a  lad,  fully  comprehended  the  entire  situa- 
tion. The  qualifications  and  intellectual  requirements 
of  a  successful  wholesale  merchant  may  perhaps  be  most 
easily  understood  by  allotting  them  all  to  a  single  indi- 
vidual, and  afterward  naming  the  divisions  which  are 
ordinarily  made  in  a  business  house. 


100  SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE. 

"A  merchant  such  as  we  are  discussing  must  first  be 
a  financier,  one  who  with  a  limited  capital  can  conduct 
the  largest  business  which  his  means  will  permit  and 
always  keep  his  credit  at  the  highest  point.  By  capital 
is  meant  cash  investment  and  not  certificates  of  stock ; 
and  the  word  'limited'  is  used  in  a  restrictive  sense.  Un- 
limited capital  is,  as  a  rule,  an  unhealthy  element  of 
business.  The  merchant's  inclination  to  purchase  mer- 
chandise must  be  held  within  bounds  by  a  careful  cal- 
culation of  ability  to  meet  bills  when  due.  In  making 
sales,  he  must  guard  against  the  importunities  of  cus- 
tomers and  the  pressure  of  competition,  which  tempt 
him  to  grant  too  long  time  or  too  large  credit.  The 
shadow  of  a  coming  pay-day  hangs  over  every  transac- 
tion. 

Responsibilities  of  Buyers. 

"As  a  buyer  of  merchandise,  he  must  be  governed  in 
his  purchases,  not  by  the  styles  and  qualities  which  man- 
ufacturers produce  for  the  country  at  large,  but  by  his 
own  personal  judgment  as  to  the  wants  of  his  own  par- 
ticular customers.  The  old  adage,  *  Goods  well  bought 
are  half  sold,'  is  as  true  as  when  it  was  first  promulgated. 
A  buyer  must  not  only  be  a  judge  of  values,  but  must 
have  judgment  approaching  intuition  as  to  what  will 
sell,  and  must  have  experience  to  determine  what  sizes, 
weights,  dimensions,  etc.,  to  select.  There  is  nothing 
more  disheartening  to  a  merchant,  or  more  destructive 
to  his  profits,  than  the  marketing  of  large  quantities  of 
unsalable  goods  at  one-half  their  purchase  price.  The 
buyer  must  have  a  carefully  studied  idea  of  future  ne- 
cessities and  demands.  Manufacturers,  generally  speak- 
ing, do  not  carry  stock,  the  bulk  of  their  product  being 


SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE.  101 

manufactured  to  fill  specific  orders.  The  purchases  of 
wholesale  clothing  merchants  for  their  next  season's 
stocks  were  made  months  ago,  and  the  goods  are 
now  being  manufactured.  The  requisitions  upon  for- 
eign, and  even  domestic,  makers  of  next  season's  dress 
goods  have  gone  to  their  destination.  The  brands  of 
the  tea  you  will  sip  at  next  winter's  afternoon  functions 
have  already  been  determined  by  the  orders  sent  to  the 
Orient.  The  tools  which  will  be  used  in  the  harvesting 
of  the  coming  season's  crops  in  all  this  Northwest  were 
bought  by  the  wholesale  merchant  last  November.  A 
successful  buyer  must  have  judgment  bordering  on  ge- 
nius to  determine  what  new  styles  and  new  inventions 
will  prove  salable  and  will  do  credit  to  the  house  which 
distributes  them.  The  best  profits  being  made  upon  the 
new  articles  before  competition  or  commonness  has 
cheapened  them,  the  temptation  is  to  be  a  pioneer  on  a 
large  scale.  When,  for  some  unforeseen  cause,  the  pub- 
lic fails  to  co-operate,  or,  having  purchased,  discovers 
a  lack  of  utility,  the  outcome  and  echo  of  the  transaction 
seems  to  the  buyer  to  extend  to  the  ends  of  the  world 
and  throughout  all  time. 

"He  must  give  such  instructions  to  manufacturers  re- 
garding the  division  of  shipments  as  will  insure  an  abil- 
ity to  store  a  full  stock  at  the  time  needed,  and  a  cer- 
tainty of  financial  ability  to  meet  the  bills.  Not  only 
must  he  give  instructions,  but  he  must  be  satisfied  that 
the  manufacturer  can  obey  them;  otherwise,  when  the 
demands  from  his  customers  materialize,  he  will  be  un- 
able to  meet  them. 


10*2  SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE. 

Granting  of  Credit. 

"A  successful  merchant  is  one  who  grants  credit  with 
a  liberality  which  insures  the  loyalty  of  his  customers, 
and  with  a  conservatism  which  guards  against  losses. 
To  be  a  judge  of  credits  means  to  be  a  judge,  not  only 
of  what  constitutes  a  good  risk  based  upon  assets  and 
liabilities,  but  of  human  nature  as  well.  A  combination 
of  small  capital,  good  character  and  habits  (business 
and  otherwise),  thrift,  and  industry  is  a  much  better 
groundwork  for  a  line  of  credit  to  a  customer  than  is 
large  capital,  indifferent  charactej  and  habits,  and  loose, 
unbusinesslike  methods.  It  goes  without  saying  that 
adequate  capital,  unimpeachable  integrity,  and  strict 
business  methods  constitute  the  ideal  risk. 

Qualifications  of  Salesmanship. 

"The  successful  merchant  must  possess  the  varied 
qualifications  of  salesmanship.  To  be  a  good  salesman 
is  not  only  in  itself  a  trade,  but  an  accomplishment.  A 
first-class  salesman  must  not  only  know  his  goods  and 
their  values,  but  must  be  equally  well  informed  regard- 
ing the  lines  with  which  he  will  come  in  competition.  He 
must  be  able  to  win  and  retain  the  confidence  of  the  men 
with  whom  he  transacts  business.  In  making  sales,  he 
must  consider  the  interests  of  both  the  buyer  and  the 
seller.  He  must  know  that  a  sale  which  overstocks  a 
customer  or  gives  him  ground  for  feeling  that  he  has 
been  unintentionally  overcharged,  or  in  any  manner  de- 
frauded, is  the  most  unprofitable  sale  that  can  possibly 
be  made.  An  ideal  salesman  is  not  one  who  depends 
upon  what  is  vulgarly  known  as  'the  gift  of  the  gab.' 
One  of  the  best  salesmen  I  ever  knew  was  the  most 


WELLING  AT  WHOLESALE.  108 

quiet  and  least  obtrusive  in  his  manner.  A  thoroughly 
equipped  salesman  must  have  confidence  in  the  mer- 
chandise he  is  selling,  and  be  able  to  exert  personal  mag- 
netism. A  man  who  never  makes  friends  never  makes 
customers. 

Up-to-date  Methods  Needed. 

"A  successful  merchant  must  be  capable  of  so  organ- 
izing the  working  of  his  business  machinery  as  to  secure 
the  most  prompt  and  accurate  transactions  with  the 
least  unnecessary  expenditure  or  waste  of  energy  or 
money.  In  these  days  of  general  expansion  and  quick 
action,  the  merchant  who  has  not  his  business  thoroughly 
organized,  and  has  not  adopted  the  latest  up-to-date 
methods,  must  withdraw  from  the  procession  or  submit 
to  being  run  over.  Time  is  becoming  the  essence  of  a 
business  transaction.  As  an  illustration,  the  Chicago  & 
Northwestern  Railroad  Company  loads  by  six  o'clock 
in  the  evening  all  the  merchandise  received  at  its  depots 
up  to  five  o'clock  of  the  same  day  and  distributes  it  at 
the  various  stations  in  eastern  Iowa  the  following  morn- 
ing. A  retail  merchant  at  Cedar  Rapids  before  leaving 
his  office  Monday  evening  orders  by  mail  a  bill  of  goods 
from  a  wholesale  house  in  Chicago.  The  order  reaches 
its  destination  Tuesday  morning,  and  if  the  Cedar  Rap- 
ids man,  upon  arriving  at  his  place  of  business  Wednes- 
day morning,  does  not  find  his  clerks  unpacking  the, 
goods,  he  concludes  that  his  Chicago  correspondent  is 
a  back  number.  If  during  the  next  twenty-five  years 
business  continues  to  be  accelerated  in  the  same  ratio 
in  which  it  has  been  moving  during  the  past  twenty- 
five,  an  Omaha  merchant  will  send  his  order  to  Chicago 
by  telephone,  and  if  the  goods  do  not  arrive  as  an  echo 


104  SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE. 

to  the  order,  he  will  think  something  has  gone  wrong  in 
the  mercantile  world. 

"As  it  would  be  nearly  as  impossible  to  find  a  per- 
fect human  being  as  one  who  embodies  in  a  degree  ap- 
proaching perfection  all  the  qualifications  named  for  a 
successful  merchant,  the  duties  attaching  to  his  vocation 
are  divided  among  different  heads  of  departments  of 
financing,  buying,  crediting,  selling,  managing,  etc., 
each  of  whom  is  supposed  to  possess  the  requisite  quali- 
fications for  his  particular  branch  of  the  business. 

Details  of  Daily  Routine. 

"Having  thus  attempted  to  show  you  the  skeleton  up- 
on which  a  wholesale  business  is  constructed,  I  will  un- 
dertake, in  a  hasty  and  somewhat  superficial  way,  to  out- 
line some  of  the  details  of  the  daily  routine. 

"An  order,  whether  secured  by  the  personal  solicita- 
tion of  a  salesman  upon  the  road,  purchased  by  the  re- 
tail merchant  in  the  sample  room,  or  transmitted  volun- 
tarily by  mail,  after  reaching  the  counting-room  takes 
the  same  general  course.  First  it  goes  to  clerks  by  whom 
the  amount,  in  dollars,  of  the  order  is  estimated  for  the 
purpose  of  enabling  the  Credit  Department  to  judge  of 
the  responsibility  of  the  customer  for  that  particular 
bill  of  goods.  The  order  then  goes  to  the  bookkeepers, 
whose  ledgers  represent  the  various  states  in  the  terri- 
tory from  which  the  house  draws  its  trade.  Each  ac- 
count on  the  ledger  has  at  its  head  certain  cabalistic 
signs,  placed  there  under  the  instructions  of  the  Credit 
Department,  which  tell  the  bookkeeper  the  extent  of 
credit  to  which  the  customer  is  entitled,  the  time  allowed 
for  payment,  etc.,  etc.  If  the  conditions  indicated  have 
been  fulfilled,  the  order  is  initialed  and  goes  directly  to 


SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE.  105 

the  Order  Department.  If  the  conditions  have  not  been 
fulfilled — if  the  party  has  bought  beyond  his  limit,  has 
failed  to  pay  his  bills  promptly,  or  is  otherwise  out  of 
line — the  order  goes  to  the  Credit  Department  for  con- 
sideration and  special  treatment.  It  may  be  passed  or 
may  be  rejected,  the  final  disposition  being  dependent, 
in  part,  upon  new  information  regarding  the  customer 
himself,  or  the  crop  prospects,  or  other  temporary  or 
local  conditions;  and  in  part  upon  the  momentary  state 
of  the  credit  man's  liver  or  digestive  organs.  A  large 
financial  house  in  this  city  requires  a  physician's  certifi- 
cate before  engaging  a  man  who  will  at  once  or  may 
at  some  future  time  occupy  a  responsible  position.  The 
information  upon  which  a  credit  man  bases  his  judg- 
ment is  drawn  from  personal  interviews  with  custom- 
ers, investigations  made  by  the  traveling  salesmen,  let- 
ters of  bankers  and  other  references,  reports  of  com- 
mercial agencies,  and,  best  of  all,  detailed  statements 
made  upon  prescribed  forms  by  the  customer  himself 
over  his  own  signature. 

In  the  Order  Department. 

"An  order,  having  passed  the  ordeal  of  a  bookkeep- 
er's set  rules  and  a  credit  man's  judgment,  goes  to  the 
Order  Department,  is  put  into  perfectly  intelligible 
shape  as  relates  to  the  numbers,  qualities,  etc.,  of  the 
goods  to  be  shipped  (the  items  not  in  stock  and  to  be 
bought  are  copied  into  the  city  buyer's  book),  and  then 
is  placed  in  a  spring-back  book  (each  containing  but  the 
single  order) ,  the  cover  to  which  indicates  its  exact  rights 
in  the  procession  of  orders  awaiting  execution.  For  ex- 
ample, a  red-covered  book  containing  an  order  which 
should  be  filled  with  the  utmost  dispatch  takes  precedence 


IfiLLINQ  AT  WHOLEtALE. 

over  books  of  any  other  color  in  the  selection  of  goods, 
their  being  called  back,  packed,  and  invoiced.  The  blue 
books  would  follow  the  exhaustion  of  the  red  pile,  and 
would  in  turn  be  followed  by  green,  etc.,  etc. 

Filling  and  Shipping  Orders. 

"Order  clerks  with  rolling  baskets  or  trucks  select  the 
goods  in  the  various  departments,  after  which  the  mer- 
chandise is  assembled  in  the  packing-room,  called  back 
by  men  who  were  not  parties  to  its  selection,  packed,  and, 
from  instructions  given  upon  the  various  slips  and  tags 
accumulated  during  the  execution  of  the  order,  is  shipped 
by  the  Shipping  Department.  After  the  order  is  *  called 
back/  the  book  goes  to  the  pricers  for  pricing,  to  the 
examiners  for  examination  of  these  prices,  and  to  the 
invoice  clerks  for  invoicing.  The  invoice  is  sent  to  the 
journal  clerk  for  journalizing,  and  thence  to  the  Mailing 
Department  for  folding,  inclosing,  and  stamping. 
Later  on,  the  original  order  is  checked  against  the  jour- 
nal entry  to  show  that  there  have  been  no  errors  in  en- 
tering or  no  invoices  unwittingly  mailed  without  first 
having  been  journalized.  From  this  point,  it  is  a  mat- 
ter of  bookkeeping  until  the  statements  of  account  reach 
the  collector. 

Work  of  Other  Departments. 

"I  have  endeavored,  in  a  few  words,  cutting  many 
corners,  to  give  you  an  idea  of  a  single  department— 
that  of  order-filling.  It  would  be  wearisome  and  un- 
profitable to  you  if  I  should  go  in  detail  through  the 
Financing,  Cashier's,  Buying,  Credit,  Collection,  Trav- 
eling Salesmen's,  Receiving,  Shipping,  and  the  numer- 
ous other  departments,  each  of  which  has  its  system  and 


SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE.  107 

its  definite  part  of  the  work  to  perform.  Even  the  head 
of  the  Stationery  department  of  a  large  mercantile  house 
has  more  duties  and  greater  responsibility  than  fall  to 
the  lot  of  the  proprietor  of  a  small  retail  establishment. 
The  wheels,  and  even  the  most  unimportant  cogs  on  the 
wheels,  of  this  complicated  machinery  must  be  carefully 
adjusted  or  the  product  will  be  worthless.  The  success- 
ful merchant  is  not  the  man  who  is  looking  for  some 
amusement  or  outside  employment  with  which  to  kill 
time. 

The  Young  Man's  Beginning. 

"The  young  man,  whether  graduate  of  a  public  or 
high  school,  college,  or  university,  who  wishes  to  learn 
a  mercantile  business  usually  finds  himself  at  seven 
o'clock  on  the  first  morning  of  his  business  career  taking 
off  his  coat  and  putting  on  his  overalls  in  front  of  an 
order  clerk's  locker.  At  some  future  time  there  may 
be  discovered  a  process  by  which  the  theories  gained  in 
the  schools  may  be  put  in  practice  in  mercantile  life  with- 
out the  necessity  for  actual  contact  with  merchandise 
on  the  part  of  their  possessors,  but  it  will  be  when  ex- 
perience has  ceased  to  be  a  teacher;  when  observation 
will  be  the  conservator  of  all  knowledge.  The  best  me- 
chanical engineer  is  the  man  who  has  hung  his  diploma 
from  a  school  of  engineering  in  his  room,  and  gone  down 
into  the  machine  shop  and  handled  steel  and  iron  with- 
out gloves.  A  man,  to  be  a  successful  merchant,  must 
at  some  time  master  theory,  and  the  best  time  and  place 
for  this  mastery  is  during  his  younger  days  and  in  the 
schools. 

"Occasionally  a  man  who  has  received  only  a  rudi- 


108  SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE. 

mentary  education  becomes  a  brilliant  and  effective 
preacher.  Here  and  there  a  man  whose  school  educa- 
tion was  confined  to  his  acquirements  in  the  grammar 
grades  makes  his  way  to  the  very  front  rank  of  the 
legal  fraternity.  At  infrequent  intervals,  a  man  who 
has  been  obliged  to  forego  the  advantage  of  a  liberal 
education  has  evinced  a  genius  in  diagnosis  and  thera- 
peutics which  has  placed  him  near  the  head  of  the  med- 
ical profession.  And  so  there  are  men  who  seem  in- 
stinctively to  be  merchants  and  whose  theories  are 
evolved  inductively  from  practice,  without  the  labor  in- 
cident to  acquirement  through  study. 

"Because  there  is,  exceptionally,  a  preacher,  lawyer, 
or  doctor  who  has  risen  to  eminence  despite  his  lack  of 
book  training,  you  would  not  advocate  the  cutting  of 
higher  education  by  men  seeking  the  professions. 
Neither  should  you  advise  a  young  man  who  is  headed 
toward  a  commercial  life  to  accept  less  education  and 
mental  discipline  from  the  schools  than  the  utmost  which 
is  essential  to  the  highest  achievement. 

"If  a  man  is  content  to  be  always  a  country  school- 
house  preacher,  or  a  pettifogger  in  a  village  justice 
court,  or  an  herb  doctor  on  the  frontier  of  civilization, 
there  is  no  use  in  wasting  good  book  learning  on  him 
or  in  taking  the  time  of  educators  in  attempting  to  stim- 
ulate his  brain  into  activity. 

"If  a  man  is  content  to  spend  his  life  as  the  proprietor 
of  a  crossroads  store,  sitting  on  a  nail  keg,  chewing  to- 
bacco, and  exchanging  stories  with  his  lounging  cus- 
tomers, he  is  fully  equipped  educationally  and  theoret- 
ically when  he  has  partially  mastered  the  three  R's. 


SELLING  AT  WHOLESALE.  109 

Preparation  for  Business  Life. 

"What  we  are  considering  today  is  'At  Wholesale,' 
and  the  preparation  must  be  commensurate  with  the  po- 
sition and  results  to  be  attained.  Were  I  to  recommend 
to  a  young  man  who  can  command  the  necessary  time 
and  means  a  preparatory  course  for  a  commercial  life, 
it  would  be  as  follows,  viz. : 

"A  thorough  training  at  a  secondary  schopl — such  a 
training  as  would  not  only  permit  of  his  entering  col- 
lege without  conditions,  but  would  actually  enable  him 
to  write  legibly  and  spell  correctly.  I  admit  that  I  am 
old-fashioned  when  I  suggest  that  an  elementary  knowl- 
edge even  of  chirography  and  orthography  are  essential 
to  a  liberal  education,  and  I  make  the  suggestion  with 
hesitation.  I  am  impelled  to  do  so  by  the  knowledge 
that  there  are  some  antiques  in  business  who  are  so 
grounded  in  old  methods  that  they  insist  upon  consign- 
ing to  the  waste  basket  all  ill-written  and  misspelled  ap- 
plications for  situations,  even  though  the  letters  be  signed 
by  college  or  university  graduates.  These  old  fossils 
have  an  idea  that  ignorance  or  carelessness  shown  in  a 
letter  of  application  written  by  a  young  man  who  has 
spent  nearly  all  his  early  life  in  acquiring  knowledge 
and  gaining  accuracy  does  not  portend  great  success  in 
a  mercantile  career. 

"Entering  college,  he  should  select  the  courses  of- 
fered which  will  give  him  the  best  instruction  in  all  that 
pertains  to  commerce  and  the  most  thorough  discipline 
of  mind.  The  coveted  college  (or  institute)  diploma 
and  university  degree  at  the  top  of  the  tree  of  knowl- 
edge are  becoming  more  and  more  attainable  by  the  stu- 
dent who  has  been  obliged  to  forego  digging  among 


110  BELLING  AT  WHOLEIAJLB. 

the  Greek  roots  or  lingering  upon  those  lower  branches 
marked  'B.  C.' 

"As  no  aspiring  young  man  possessed  of  brains,  who 
has  a  proper  conception  of  what  constitutes  the  best 
manhood,  the  most  real  happiness,  and  the  greatest  use- 
fulness in  the  world,  will  be  satisfied  with  the  prospect 
of  a  life  devoted  exclusively  to  business,  he  must,  nec- 
essarily, broaden  his  education  to  meet  the  requirements 
of  his  ideal.  The  college  or  university  course  should 
include,  not  only  commercial  and  kindred  or  related 
branches,  but  all  classes  of  information  and  knowledge 
within  reach  which  can  be  utilized  in  the  life  of  an  in- 
telligent, broad-minded,  public-spirited  citizen.  Busi- 
ness, like  a  profession,  should  be  the  means  to  an  end. 

"After  a  diploma  is  secured,  a  year,  if  possible,  is  well 
spent  in  a  retail  establishment  of  the  particular  line  of 
merchandising  which  has  been  chosen.  Then  comes  the 
elementary  practice  in  a  wholesale  house,  with,  let  us 
hope,  a  rapid  advancement  from  one  department  to  an- 
other, until  the  former  student  becomes  the  head  of  a 
firm  or  the  president  of  a  corporation." 


CHAPTER  VII. 
SELLING  AT  RETAIL. 

Salesmanship  in  retail  business  depends  very  largely 
upon  the  exercise  of  good  judgment  in  meeting  and 
handling  customers.  Successful  retail  salesmen  digni- 
fy their  work  by  doing  it  in  the  best  possible  way.  They 
regard  their  occupation  as  honorable,  and  so  regarding 
it  preserve  their  self-respect  and  command  the  respect 
of  others.  They  are  not  worried  or  upset  by  the  lack 
of  good  manners  on  the  part  of  customers  with  whom 
they  may  have  to  deal,  but  meet  all  comers  with  un- 
failing good  temper,  and  by  their  constant  courtesy 
make  and  keep  friends  among  those  whom  they  sell. 

Customers  in  a  retail  store  like  to  look  upon  the  sales- 
man as  a  friend  with  special  knowledge  of  the  goods 
they  need,  and  ready  to  place  this  special  knowledge  at 
their  service. 

The  fact  that  the  retail  salesman  usually  has  a  large 
variety  of  articles  to  sell  precludes  the  possibility  of 
preparing  a  separate  selling  talk  for  each  article,  but 
it  should  not  prevent  constant  study  of  all  the  goods 
which  he  is  called  upon  to  handle.  He  should  be  able 
to  inform  the  customer  as  to  uses,  parts,  qualities,  etc.,  of 
the  goods  in  stock ;  in  fact,  he  cannot  have  too  much  in- 
formation about  the  stock,  in  order  to  be  able  to  give 
informing  answers  to  the  thousand  and  one  questions 
asked  by  customers. 

Ill 


112  SELLING  AT  RETAIL. 

He  differs  from  a  wholesale  salesman  in  not  having 
to  secure  the  attention  of  the  customer,  since  that  is  se- 
cured already,  nor  does  he  have  to  prepare  an  approach 
as  the  wholesale  salesman  is  required  to  do.  But  his 
manner  of  receiving  the  customer  must  be  courteous  and 
encouraging.  If  the  customer  is  brusque  or  impolite, 
the  trained  courtesy  of  the  retail  salesman  must  be  able 
to  overcome  brusqueness  and  impoliteness,  sell  the  goods, 
and  leave  a  satisfied  customer. 

Although  retail  customers,  when  they  enter  a  store, 
already  possess  Desire,  it  is  often  necessary  for  the  sales- 
man to  assist  Decision.  He  may  make  suggestions  to 
the  customer  or  give  advice,  as  the  case  may  be. 

The  qualities  in  the  salesman  which  inevitably  win 
recognition  by  employers  are  those  which  include  whole- 
souled  loyalty  to  the  house  and  a  regard  for  the  interests 
of  the  house  as  paramount. 

The  successful  retail  salesman  makes  steady  custo- 
mers for  the  store. 

The  points  in  which  a  good  retail  salesman  differs 
from  a  mere  clerk  have  been  well  brought  out  by  a  spec- 
ialist in  retail  salesmanship  quoted  by  Mr.  Jonas  How- 
ard in  the  Worker's  Magazine.  He  follows  the  course 
of  a  scientific  salesman  through  the  various  steps  of  a 
sale  and  contrasts  him  with  the  untrained  clerk  as 
follows : 

1.    Securing  Attention. 

"The  first  step,  or  securing  attention,  requires  in 
the  salesman  courtesy  and  interest — nothing  else.  Sim- 
ple but  unfailing  courtesy  and  interest  is  sufficient  to 
secure  attention.  The  courtesy  and  interest  must  con- 


SELLING  AT  RETAIL.  118 

tinue  through  all  successive  steps;  must  be  a  base,  as  it 
were,  on  which  all  other  qualifications  must  rest,  and 
all  the  steps  are  in  this  manner  connected. 

"If  a  salesman  has  courtesy  and  interest  he  will  se- 
cure the  attention  of  the  customer,  which  leads  to  the 
next  step. 

2.    Arousing  Interest. 

"The  customer's  interest  must  be  aroused  by  the  inter- 
est of  the  salesman.  Interest  is  likely  to  breed  inter- 
est, but  lack  of  interest  never  can.  We  say  'is  likely 
to  breed  interest'  because  at  any  one  of  these  steps  the 
salesman  may  have  to  register  failure.  It  is  the  leading 
from  one  to  the  other  that  makes  a  success  at  the  end. 

"The  most  famous  preachers,  lecturers,  orators  of 
all  kinds,  in  the  pulpit,  in  the  courtroom,  or  on  the  politi- 
cal platform,  have  been  interesting  to  their  hearers  just 
because  they  have  been  intensely  interested  themselves  in 
their  subject. 

"Interested?  Such  men  are  'all  wrapped  up'  in  their 
subjects  and  have  been  called  crazy  on  socialism,  pro- 
tective tariff,  the  spreading  of  the  gospel,  liberty,  wom- 
an's suffrage,  or  whatever  was  the  matter  at  hand. 

"You  needn't  be  crazy  about  merchandise  to  make 
sales,  but  you  must  be  intensely  interested  or  you  will 
never  have  an  interested  customer. 

"But  never  forget  the  courtesy  that  has  brought  you 
this  far. 

*'So  we  have  courtesy  and  interest  on  the  part  of  the 
salesman,  which  have  produced  attention  and  interest 
on  the  part  of  the  customer,  and  we  are  ready  for  the 
next  step,  which  is  desire. 

I.B.L.  Vol.  2—8 


114  SELLING  AT  RETAIL. 

S.    Creating  Desire. 

"The  customer  must  know  something  about  the  thing 
which  you  expect  him  to  buy;  he  must  know  why  and 
how  it  will  benefit  him;  must  know  whether  it  will  help 
him  to  dress  more  stylishly  or  whether  it  will  be  more 
comfortable  to  him;  must  know  whether  he  can  save 
money  on  the  purchase ;  whether  it  will  save  time  for  him 
in  some  way,  or  whether  he  can  make  his  home  more  at- 
tractive with  the  article,  or  must  know  several  of  a  hun- 
dred or  more  other  things. 

"And  how  can  the  salesman  tell  the  customer  these 
things  if  he  doesn't  know  them  himself? 

"If  you  are  selling  guns  you  must  know  guns;  if  you 
are  selling  socks  you  must  know  socks.  The  salesman 
must  have  knowledge  of  whatever  he  is  selling  and  be 
able  to  impart  it  to  the  customer  or  the  sale  will  fail 
right  there — the  customer  will  never  be  taught  to  want 
the  article ;  he  will  never  experience  the  desire  for  it. 

"But  after  the  salesman  has  aroused  the  desire  of  the 
customer  for  the  article  a  crucial  point  is  reached. 

"The  salesman  has  thus  far  been  courteous,  has  been 
interested  in  his  work,  and  has  taught  the  customer  some- 
thing about  the  article  in  hand. 

"The  customer  has  had  his  attention  drawn,  has  been 
interested  in  the  article,  and  has  desired  it.  And  it  is 
only  gentle  leading  and  a  short  way  now  to  arrive  at 
decision. 

4.    The  Purchasing  Impulse. 

"This  is  the  final  point — the  test.  If  the  customer 
decides  to  buy  the  article  the  salesman  has  aroused  the 
'purchasing  impulse'  and  has  been  successful.  If  the 


AT  RETAIL.  115 

customer  decides  not  to  buy  the  article  the  salesman  has 
failed. 

"Of  course,  at  this  point  the  customer  may  have  other 
and  private  reasons  for  not  buying.  He  may  even  re- 
gret the  necessity  for  his  refusal  to  purchase.  In  that 
event  the  salesman  has  actually  aroused  the  desire  to  pos- 
sess the  article,  has  awakened  the  purchasing  impulse — 
and  has  really  succeeded,  but  has  been  frustrated  by  con- 
ditions beyond  his  control. 

"All  these  things  presuppose  that  the  article  has  merit 
in  itself  and  will  be  a  desirable  addition  to  the  purchas- 
er's ownings.  If  the  article  will  not  benefit  the  custo- 
mer, if  he  will  have  regrets  after  leaving  the  store,  the 
salesman  has  in  some  way  misled  him.  He  has  not  been 
dealt  with  'on  the  square*  all  through.  And  this  is  false 
salesmanship. 

"This  writing  deals  entirely  with  worthy  merchandise, 
with  desirable  articles,  and  of  how  the  salesman  may 
introduce  them  to  those  whom  they  will  benefit.  Any- 
thing else  closely  approaches  the  methods  of  a  street 
faker  and  is  not  countenanced  in  a  store  that  stands  for 
upright  dealing  at  all  times. 

Every  One  a  Prospective. 

"Only  remember  that  almost  every  one  who  passes 
your  counter  will  be  interested  in  what  you  are  selling; 
would  be  glad  to  have  it  if  he  knew  all  about  it,  and 
would  purchase  it  if  approached  in  the  right  way.  And 
this  isn't  an  excuse  for  buttonholing  everyone  to  his  an- 
noyance. Just  watch  your  chances  and  take  instant  ad- 
vantage of  them.  To  do  so  you  must  be  wakef  ully  alert 
at  all  times.  'The  morning  after'  is  not  a  good  time  to 


11(5  SELLING  AT  RETAIL. 

be  alert,  nor  can  you  be  when  you  are  standing  about 
gossiping  or  shouting  across  the  aisle  or  taking  it  easy  in 
any  other  manner. 

"Why  does  one  salesman,  or  'clerk,'  if  you  choose  to 
call  him  so,  have  more  sales  than  another?  Why  do  cus- 
tomers prefer  some  one  salesman  to  wait  upon  them? 
Why  is  one  salesman  preferred  to  another  by  the  firm 
which  employs  them?  All  these  questions  and  many 
others  are  answered  in  the  above  suggestions. 

"If  you  are  one  of  the  unfavored,  don't  be  grumpy- 
try  these. 

"If  you  are  dissatisfied  with  the  number  and  amount 
of  your  sales — try  these. 

"If  you  are  a  youngster  and  wonder  how  it  is  that  the 
old  ones  are  so  successful — try  these. 

"If  you  want  an  increase  in  salary — try  this  method 
of  getting  it. 

Filling  Orders  Not  Salesmanship. 

"There  come  to  your  counter  sometimes  customers 
who  already  have  passed  through  the  first  three  stages  of 
the  buying  process  without  the  aid  of  any  salesman. 
They  know  what  they  want  and  ask  for  it.  They  know 
what  they  want  to  pay,  too.  Such  customers  will  tell 
you  what  they  want  and  at  what  price  they  want  it. 

"It  is  not  salesmanship  to  fill  such  orders.  There  are 
many  cleverly  designed  machines  in  use  today  which 
perform  the  same  work — that  of  handing  out  what  is 
asked  for. 

"Salesmanship,  as  outlined  above,  is  selling  to  the 
customer  something  that  he  needs  even  though  he  doesn't 
know  he  needs  it  before  you  see  him,  and  that  the  mer- 
chant, your  employer,  has  brought  here  for  him. 


SELLING  AT  RETAIL.  117 

"It  is  a  service  to  both — to  the  customer  and  to  the 
man  for  whom  you  work.  It  is  what  is  looked  for.  It  is 
what  makes  you  a  better  salesman  and  more  valuable  to 
your  employer  or  employers,  and  it  is  what  increases 
your  salary  or  brings  a  tempting  offer  from  some  other 
merchant  when  your  own  firm  fails  to  'show  up.' 

"Every  wideawake  merchant  is  always  looking  for 
good  salespeople.  There  is  plenty  of  room  for  good 
ones.  It  will  even  be  made  for  them,  for  there  are  too 
many  of  the  other  kind." 


"Of  all  the  elements  of  success,  none  is  more  vital  than 
self-reliance — a  determination  to  be  one's  own  helper  and 
not  to  look  to  others  for  support.  "—Elliott. 


"Lost,  yesterday,  somewhere  between  sunrise  and  sun- 
set, two  golden  hours,  each  set  with  sixty  diamond  min- 
utes. No  reward  is  offered  for  they  are  gone  forever. " 

— Mann. 


"Life  is  too  short  for  us  to  waste  its  moments  in  deplor- 
ing bad  luck.  We  must  go  after  success  since  it  will  not 
come  to  us,  and  we  have  no  time  to  spare." — Dewey. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTIONS  TO  SALESMEN. 

Salesmen  do  not  always  receive  from  "the  house"  pre- 
cise instructions  as  to  what  is  expected  of  them  in  the 
field,  but  as  a  rule  most  up-to-date  business  houses  pre- 
pare specific  instructions  for  their  road  men.  These 
are  sometimes  given  by  word  of  mouth  in  the  office  of 
the  Sales  Manager,  or  in  the  instruction  schools  of  large 
concerns,  but  nowadays  they  are  also  frequently  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  new  salesman  in  written  or  printed 
form. 

A  typical  set  of  such  instructions  is  found  in  the  fol- 
lowing, which  are  here  inserted  because  of  the  fact  that 
they  cover  so  much  valuable  ground  in  terse  and  pithy 
language  and  embrace  so  many  points  of  practical  inter- 
est to  all. 

General  Instructions. 

(C.  E.  Zimmerman  Company,  Chicago.) 

"No  iron-clad  rules  or  instructions  can  be  laid  down 
for  selling,  but  the  following  will  cover  our  policy.  The 
same  general  knowledge  applies  to  all  salesmanship. 
The  following  rules  have  been  gleaned  from  men  who 
have  spent  vast  sums  of  money  and  years  of  patient  la- 
bor to  acquire  their  experience  and  information  and  it  is 
expected  that  you  will  use  them  to  the  best  advantage. 

119 


120  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTIONS  TO  SALESMEN. 

"1.  Your  route  list  will  be  laid  out  for  you  in  ad- 
vance. It  is  the  intention  that  you  should  have  complete 
information  as  to  whom  you  are  going  to  see  and  that 
you  have  copies  of  their  ads. 

"2.  If  at  any  time  a  town  is  omitted  from  your  route 
list  and  you  receive  information  that  makes  it  advisable 
to  make  the  town,  use  your  own  judgment  in  doing  so. 

"3.  It  is  our  desire  to  give  you  the  widest  latitude 
possible,  consistent  with  good  business.  Good  business 
principles  we  insist  upon  and  the  man  who  does  not  have 
a  shave  and  shine  every  morning,  or  who  takes  a  drink 
during  the  day,  who  calls  with  his  breath  smelling  from 
liquor,  who  calls  upon  a  customer  with  soiled  linen,  or 
with  baggy  clothing,  whose  nails  are  not  carefully  mani- 
cured, and  wrho  is  not  trying  every  day  to  make  a  better 
record  than  the  day  before  and  a  better  record  than  the 
week  before,  has  no  place  on  our  sales  force. 

"4.  It  is  also  recognized  in  the  selling  profession  that 
a  sale  takes  place  in  the  customer's  mind,  which  goes  up 
four  steps,  namely,  Attention,  Interest,  Desire,  De- 
cision, or  resolve  to  buy.  In  order  to  secure  attention  it  is 
necessary  to  appeal  to  one  or  all  of  four  things — need, 
pride,  price,  necessity.  Show  the  customer  that  our 
service  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  success  of  his  busi- 
ness, especially  as  his  competitor  will  get  it  if  he  doesn't. 

Our  Men  Carry  No  Cards. 

"5.  Cards  are  seldom  used  by  a  live  salesman,  except 
on  the  second  interview,  and  a  second  interview  is  seldom 
necessary  on  this  proposition.  Furthermore,  the  class 
of  people  you  approach  do  not  need  this  form  of  intro- 
duction. 


PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTIONS  TO  SALESMEN.  121 

This  Is  Important. 

"6.  Never  go  into  a  store  until  you  know  the  name  of 
the  men  you  are  going  to  see,  and  have  as  much  informa- 
tion as  possible  regarding  the  nature  of  their  business, 
the  amount  of  their  business,  the  advertising  they  do,  and 
the  policy  they  carry  out  if  they  have  any. 

"7.  If  you  have  any  trouble  in  getting  to  see  your 
man  simply  say  to  the  clerk  or  secretary  or  whoever  asks 
for  your  card:  'I  am  Mr.  Zimmerman  of  Chicago. 
Will  you  please  tell  Mr.  Blank  that  I  have  come  down 
here  to  see  him  on  a  very  important  matter  regarding 
his  business/ 

"If  you  are  asked  whether  you  are  an  agent  or  what 
your  business  is,  reply  something  like  this:  'No,  I  am 
not  an  agent.  My  business  will  only  require  a  few  min- 
utes of  his  time.  I  cannot  tell  my  business  to  anyone 
else ;  simply  say  that  Mr.  Zimmerman  of  Chicago  wants 
to  speak  to  him.  I  think  that  will  be  sufficient.' 

"More  depends  upon  the  way  you  say  this  than  on  the 
words  you  use.  From  the  minute  you  go  into  a  store 
you  either  have  an  air  of  knowing  something  or  you  be- 
gin to  feel  like  some  schoolboy.  If  you  carry  the  proper 
opinion  of  yourself  through  your  interview  you  will 
command  his  respect  and  attention  and  you  will  un- 
doubtedly sell  him. 

"8.  Salesmanship  is  a  battle  of  minds.  You  cannot 
do  business  with  a  man  if  he  has  something  else  on  his 
mind,  even  if  he  is  giving  you  his  time.  The  easiest  and 
surely  the  best  way  is  to  make  some  remark  about  his 
business  showing  your  knowledge  and  interest.  For  in- 
stance, if  you  are  in  a  bank,  say:  'Mr.  Banker,  I  am 
surprised  there  are  only  eight  banks  in  this  town,  when 


122  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION*  TO  1ALBSMEN. 

there  is  a  banking  capital  or  business  of  one  million  a 
month,  and  I  see  that  you  people  are  trying  a  little 
harder  than  the  others  to  increase  your  share  of  it/ 

"This  will  be  true,  as  you  will  go  to  the  livest  man  or 
banker  in  the  town  to  do  business. 

"The  next  thing  for  you  to  do  is  to  show  the  man  the 
proposition.  In  doing  so  remember  that  different  men 
can  be  reached  in  different  ways.  Some  men — and  this 
is  naturally  true  of  the  banker — can  be  reached  only 
through  a  business  way,  others  through  the  emotional 
part  of  their  nature. 

"Right  here  let  us  caution  you  to  always  be  sure  you 
are  talking  to  the  right  man  or  men.  If  you  are  talking 
to  the  banker  or  the  cashier  of  a  bank  be  sure  to  ascer- 
tain whether  it  will  be  necessary  to  call  a  meeting  of  the 
directors  to  hire  a  $1.00-a-week  boy.  At  the  same  time, 
when  putting  it  this  way,  be  careful  not  to  get  the  cashier 
to  say  that  he  has  the  authority  when  he  has  not,  for  such 
would  mean  a  loss  to  you. 

"9.  In  putting  up  a  selling  talk  to  your  customer 
you  should  first  give  him  a  general  idea  of  the  proposi- 
tion in  a  very  few  minutes,  giving  him  a  chance  to  buy  at 
the  end  of  this  time. 

"Remember  two  important  things.  One  is  to  get 
your  man  to  agree  with  what  you  are  saying;  that  is,  to 
get  him  to  agree  with  you,  for  instance,  that  advertising 
is  necessary,  that  the  mail  order  banks  are  taking  money 
out  of  his  bank  when  they  do  not  give  the  people  as 
much,  that  advertising  is  simply  salesmanship  on  paper, 
that  the  mind  goes  up  four  steps  whenever  a  sale  is  made, 
etc.;  that  the  cuts  furnished  will  get  results,  attention, 
etc.,  etc.  When  this  man  agrees  with  you  and  you  know 


PRACTICAL  miTBUCTlONS  TO  SALESMEN.  128 

you  are  going  to  get  on  with  him  all  right,  do  not  act  as 
if  you  were  prepared  for  a  fight  or  want  to  argue  with 
him. 

"Remember  that  one  of  the  greatest  elements  in  sales- 
manship is  never  to  let  a  man  say  'No'  and  never  argue 
with  him.  One  positive  statement  saying  something  is 
the  case,  carries  more  weight  than  something  saying  that 
such-and-such  a  thing  is  not  the  case. 

"10.  There  are  four  things  that  go  to  make  up  a 
salesman: 

a.  His  Intellect  or  Thinking  Power. 

b.  His  Health  or  Physical  Power. 

c.  His  Sensibility  or  Soul  Power. 

d.  His  Will  Power  or  Action. 

"Ninety-nine  out  of  one  hundred  times  the  main  dif- 
ference between  a  one-dollar  man  and  a  ten-thousand- 
dollar  man  is  their  actions.  There  are  plenty  of  suc- 
cessful men  on  the  road  with  propositions  greatly  in- 
ferior to  yours.  If  you  will  exercise  your  will-power 
and  get  action,  you  will  make  a  greater  success  than 
they.  As  a  matter  of  fact  you  have  competitors  in  this 
line.  They  are  making  money,  and  more  than  men- 
tioned above,  they  have  not  the  goods  you  have,  in  any 
way.  It  is  only  necessary  for  you  to  get  half  their  price. 
What  are  you  going  to  do?  It  is  up  to  You" 


Instructions  like  the  foregoing,  when  placed  by  "the 
house"  in  the  hands  of  a  new  salesman,  make  him  realize 
that  he  is  going  out  to  represent  people  who  understand 
their  business.  He  also  feels  that  he  has  behind  him  a 
consulting  authority  to  which  he  can  turn,  in  case  of  dif- 


124  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTIONS  TO  SALESMEN. 

ficulty,  for  advice  and  explicit  counsel.  If  he  is  wise 
and  thoroughly  assimilates  his  instructions  he  will  gain 
confidence  in  himself  and  in  his  proposition  and  be  better 
able  to  secure  a  hearing. 

When  such  instructions  are  supplemented  by  concrete 
examples  of  the  line  of  selling  talk  to  be  used  under  vari- 
ous circumstances,  and  with  arguments  to  meet  all  pos- 
sible objections,  the  salesman  is  placed  in  a  splendid  po- 
sition to  do  business.  This  is  especially  the  case  when  he 
is  further  equipped  for  the  field  by  conscientious  self- 
training  in  the  principles  and  approved  practice  of  scien- 
tific salesmanship. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  APPROACH. 

There  are  three  important  stages  in  every  sale,  espe- 
cially in  the  sale  of  a  specialty.  These  are  (1)  the  Ap- 
proach; (2)  The  Demonstration;  (3)  Closing  the  Sale, 
or  Getting  the  Order. 

Too  much  importance  cannot  be  attached  to  the  value 
of  the  approach.  Few  beginners  are  able  to  make  good 
approaches.  The  first  moments  of  an  interview  with  a 
prospect  are  often  an  ordeal  which  lives  in  their  memory. 
Faulty  approaches  frequently  result  in  failure,  hence 
sales  managers  should  carefully  drill  new  salesmen  in 
proper  methods  of  approach,  so  that  they  may  make  a 
good  impression  and  secure  a  fair  hearing. 

Few  concerns  have  made  such  a  study  of  the  approach 
as  the  National  Cash  Register  Co.  and  it  is  interest- 
ing to  all  to  read  their  instructions  to  salesmen  on  this 
point.  They  say: 

How  to  Introduce  Yourself. 

"It  is  manifestly  impossible  to  describe  a  definite 
form  of  words  and  require  salesmen  to  use  that  in  all 
cases  when  they  approach  business  men  at  the  first  inter- 
view. What  would  be  proper  to  say  to  one  man  under 
given  circumstances  might  be  unsuitable  to  say  to  an- 
other under  different  circumstances.  Much  must  be  left 
to  the  discretion  of  the  salesman.  At  the  same  time 
there  are  certain  leading  statements  to  be  made,  and 

125 


12C  THS 

certain  ways  of  making  them,  which  experience  has 
shown  to  be  well  adapted  to  the  end  in  view.  Some  of 
these  forms  are  here  given  in  order  that  beginners  may 
profit  by  them. 

"It  is  not  necessary  that  this  introductory  talk  be 
long.  Often  a  short  talk  is  more  convincing. 

44 We  do  not  advise  salesmen  to  introduce  themselves 
by  sending  in  a  card,  but  prefer  that  they  should  depend 
wholly  on  what  they  are  able  to  say  to  secure  a  hearing. 
We  strongly  disapprove  of  obscure  introductions  and  all 
tricks,  and  believe  that  a  man  who  has  something  worth 
saying,  and  is  not  ashamed  of  his  business,  can  make 
known  his  errand  in  a  bold,  straight-forward  manner. 

Have  a  Fixed  Idea. 

"A  salesman  should  adapt  himself  to  his  man,  but 
at  the  same  time  he  should  have  a  fixed  idea  of  what  he 
has  to  say.  He  should  be  dignified  and  earnest.  The 
purchase  of  a  cash  register  is  an  important  matter  to  a 
storekeeper.  Often  it  is  the  most  costly  thing  in  his  store. 
It  is  a  serious  question  and  must  not  be  treated  flip- 
pantly. 

"A  storekeeper  should  never  be  approached  the  first 
time  with  a  funny  story  or  an  attempt  at  wit.  The 
first  impression  should  be  that  the  salesman  sets  a  dis- 
tinct value  upon  both  his  own  time  and  the  storekeeper's ; 
that  he  has  something  of  importance  to  say  and  does  not 
intend  to  trifle  about  it. 

The  First  Interview. 

"Success  in  selling  cash  registers  depends  largely  on 
the  result  of  the  salesman's  first  interview  with  the  store- 
keeper whom  he  approaches.  If  he  makes  a  favorable 


THE  APPROACH. 

impression,  answers  the  storekeepers'  questions  well, 
overcomes  objections,  and  persuades  them  to  go  and  see 
the  registers,  these  storekeepers  may  become  prospective 
purchasers  If,  on  the  contrary,  this  first  interview  be 
a  failure,  a  second  will  be  difficult  to  secure. 

"You  must  not  proceed  on  the  theory  that  store- 
keepers usually  know  what  their  own  best  interests  are. 
They  don't.  No  man  always  does.  The  majority  of 
men  are  going  contrary  to  their  best  interests  every  day. 
They  seem  to  be  almost  wilfully  blind  to  the  things  that 
would  help  them  and  make  them  better  off. 

"You  know  the  old  story  of  the  man  who  stood  on 
London  Bridge  and  offered  golden  guineas  for  a  shil- 
ling apiece  and  no  one  would  touch  the  bargain.  Thou- 
sands of  storekeepers  are  just  like  that.  They  don't  see, 
they  can't  see,  without  having  it  fairly  thrust  upon  them, 
that  the  National  Cash  Register  will  be  a  source  of  profit 
to  them — actually  a  money-making  affair.  It  is  your 
business  to  know  enough  about  storekeeping  to  know 
that  this  is  so,  to  insist  upon  it,  and  make  them  see  it. 

Gain  a  Hearing. 

"The  first  point  in  approaching  a  prospect  is  to  look 
like  a  gentleman,  act  like  a  man,  and  make  him  listen  to 
you.  The  next  thing  is — not  to  half  persuade  him  that 
he  ought  to  buy  a  register,  but  to  wholly  convince  him 
that  he  ought  to  look  into  the  subject. 

"Disarm  his  mind,  at  the  start,  of  the  impression  that 
you  are  trying  to  force  him  into  getting  something  he 
doesn't  want.  Disclaim  any  such  intention.  But  insist 
that  it  is  a  matter  of  such  importance  that  he  positively 
ought  to  investigate  it  and  judge  for  himself  whether 
it  would  be  valuable  to  him  or  not. 


128  THE  APPROACH. 

How  to  Approach  a  Storekeeper. 

"It  is  of  great  importance,  in  any  case,  unless  the  pros- 
pect is  an  old  one,  and  you  are  familiar  with  his  methods 
of  conducting  his  business,  that  a  study  of  the  situation 
be  made  before  you  introduce  yourself  to  the  proprietor. 
We  have  provided  a  diagram  card  for  this  purpose.  It 
enables  you  to  make  a  memorandum  of  information  that 
is  absolutely  necessary  in  your  efforts  to  secure  the  order. 
You  can  easily  make  a  purchase  of  a  cigar,  or  apple,  or 
any  article  in  the  store,  and  at  the  same  time  give  the 
clerk  a  piece  of  money  which  will  require  him  to  make 
change.  You  can  in  this  way  see  the  location  of  the  cash 
drawer,  and  see  the  method  of  handling  the  sale.  If 
you  see  he  has  the  ordinary  old  cash  drawer,  you  have 
at  once  secured  a  good  selling  point.  If  possible,  enter 
into  conversation  with  the  clerk.  Train  your  mind  to 
grasp  the  situations  in  the  store;  to  see  in  a  moment's 
time  how  the  charge  business  is  handled. 

"Gather  from  the  baskets  on  the  floor  whether  the 
merchant  delivers  goods  by  drivers,  and  from  the  bills 
in  the  basket  his  methods  of  handling  this  kind  of  trans- 
action. From  his  fixtures  and  showcases  you  should 
see  whether  he  is  progressive  or  not.  From  the  kind  of 
scales  he  uses  you  can  see  whether  he  is  a  believer  in 
modern  improvements;  from  his  show-window  whether 
he  is  smart  enough  to  take  advantage  of  advertising 
space;  from  the  general  appearance  of  his  store  and  his 
clerks  you  can  see  whether  he  is  a  believer  in  neatness 
and  discipline. 

Take  In  the  Situation. 

"Briefly,  you  can  easily  train  yourself  to  take  in  the 
entire  situation  in  the  store  in  a  few  minutes,  and  will 


THE  APPROACH.  129 

thus  be  fortified  in  your  first  interview  with  the  pro- 
prietor. You  will  not  only  be  able  to  show  him  where 
leaks  are  likely  to  occur  in  his  store,  but  from  the  kind 
of  fixtures  he  uses  and  appliances  with  which  he  sur- 
rounds himself  you  can  judge  very  closely  as  to  the 
kind  of  register  to  present  to  him,  and  whether  he  will 
be  easy  or  hard  to  interest  in  a  modern,  up-to-date 
system. 

Use  Your  Diagram  Card. 

"You  should,  during  this  interview  with  him,  continue 
to  fill  out  this  diagram  card,  by  jotting  down  the  an- 
swers to  questions  you  put  to  him.  When  he  sees  that 
you  wish  to  study  the  situation  in  his  store,  and  his 
methods,  before  attempting  to  sell  him  a  cash  register, 
he  will  appreciate  the  fact  that  you  will  be  better  able  to 
suggest  a  system  that  will  save  him  money  than  you 
would  if  you  plunged  into  it  without  proper  thought. 
If  an  appointment  is  made  to  look  at  your  register,  the 
information  you  have  obtained  as  to  the  merchant's 
methods  will  enable  you  to  study  the  situation  before 
he  comes  to  see  the  register. 

Prepare  Your  Brief. 

"As  a  lawyer  prepares  his  brief  before  the  case  is 
tried,  so  you  have  prepared  your  brief  before  the  arrival 
of  the  merchant,  and  can  present  it  to  him  in  a  far  more 
convincing  manner.  Any  merchant  would  appreciate 
such  a  careful  preparation,  and  your  influence  will  be 
far  greater,  and  the  chance  of  closing  the  sale  far  better 
than  by  a  haphazard,  careless  effort  to  secure  a  sale. 
Getting  At  Him. 

"After  making  as  thorough  an  investigation  as  possi- 
ble, you  should  go  directly  to  the  proprietor,  or  the  one 


I.B.L.  Vol.  2—9 


130  THE  APPROAC  H . 

whom  you  take  to  be  he,  and  say  to  him,  'Is  this  Mr. 
Johnson?'  Mention  his  name.  Don't  say,  'Is  this  the 
proprietor?'  If  it  should  be  a  clerk,  he  will  be  flattered 
by  being  mistaken  for  the  proprietor. 

Don't  Be  Sidetracked. 

"If  he  is  a  clerk  and  says,  'No;  Mr.  Johnson  is  busy,' 
you  can  say,  'Very  well,  I  will  wait  a  few  minutes  until 
he  is  at  liberty.'  Or,  if  the  proprietor  is  out,  'Very  well, 
I'll  call  again.  When  is  he  likely  to  be  in?' 

"If  the  clerk  says,  'What  is  your  business?  What 
do  you  want  to  see  him  about?'  say,  'I  wanted  to  see  Mr. 
Johnson  personally.  I'll  wait  until  I  can  see  him.' 

"If  the  clerk  is  very  stiff  about  it,  and  says,  'What's 
your  name?  Who  shall  I  tell  him  wants  to  see  him?' 
there  is  no  harm  in  giving  your  name,  but  don't  state 
your  business  to  the  clerk,  and  don't  send  in  your  card. 

On  a  Business  Basis. 

"On  the  other  hand,  as  soon  as  you  do  succeed  in 
reaching  the  proprietor,  and  have  said  to  him,  'Good 
morning.  Is  this  Mr.  Johnson?  then  say,  directly  and 
plainly,  'I  represent  the  National  Cash  Register  Com- 
pany.' This  immediately  puts  you  on  a  square  footing, 
and  if  he  has  anything  to  say  against  your  business  it 
will  draw  his  fire  immediately.  If  he  has  nothing  to 
say,  proceed  to  business  at  once,  but  don't  under  any 
circumstances  say,  'I  called  to  sell  you  a  register,'  or, 
'I  called  to  tell  you  about  our  registers,'  but  put  it  rather 
in  this  way,  'I  want  to  interest  you  in  our  methods  for 
taking  care  of  transactions  with  customers  in  your  store.3 

"The  difference  between  the  two  ways  of  saying  it  is 
that  one  begins  with  your  end  of  the  business — the  thing 


THE  APPROACH.  131 

that  interests  you;  while  the  other  begins  at  his  end  of 
it — the  thing  presumably  interesting  to  him." 

The  First  Five  Minutes. 

"Remember,  the  first  five  minutes  of  speaking  to  a 
man  is  likely  to  make  or  break  you  as  far  as  that  sale  is 
concerned.  If  you  are  in  any  way  antagonistic  or  offen- 
sive to  him,  you  have  hurt  your  chances  badly  from  the 
start.  If  you  have  failed  to  definitely  please  or  attract 
him,  you  have  not  done  enough. 

"It  isn't  sufficient  to  be  merely  a  negative  quantity. 
You  should  make  a  positive  favorable  impression,  and 
not  by  cajolery  nor  attempted  wit  nor  cleverness.  The 
only  right  way  to  gain  a  man's  liking  is  to  deserve  it. 

"The  majority  of  men  do  not  often  know  just  what 
the  characteristics  of  a  man  are  which  make  him  pleas- 
ing or  displeasing  to  them;  but  they  feel  pleased  or  dis- 
pleased, attracted  or  repulsed  or  indifferent,  and  the 
feeling  is  definite  and  pronounced,  even  though  they 
cannot  understand  just  what  makes  it.  A  storekeeper 
in  the  smallest  way  of  business  in  a  little  country  village 
is  just  as  susceptible  of  being  pleased  or  offended  as  any 
merchant  prince.  It  should  never  be  forgotten  that 
whatever  his  position  may  be,  'a  man's  a  man  for  a'  that.' 

Get  His  Attention. 

"Do  not  attempt  to  talk  to  a  man  who  is  not  listening, 
who  is  writing  a  letter  or  occupying  himself  in  any  other 
way  while  you  are  talking.  That's  useless,  and  is  a  loss 
of  self-respect  and  of  his  respect.  If  he  cannot  give 
you  his  attention,  say  to  him:  'I  see  that  you  are  busy. 
If  you  can  give  me  your  attention  for  a  few  minutes  I 


132  THE  APPROACH. 

shall  be  pleased;  but  I  don't  want  to  interrupt  you,  if 
you  cannot  spare  the  time,  and  I  will  call  again/ 

"Try  to  understand  and  feel  thoroughly  the  distinc- 
tion between  confidence  and  familiarity.  Never  fail  in 
respect  either  to  yourself  or  to  the  man  with  whom  you 
are  talking.  Never  be  familiar  with  him.  Never  put 
your  hand  on  his  shoulder  or  on  his  arm,  nor  take  hold 
of  his  coat.  Such  things  are  repugnant  to  a  gentleman 
— and  you  should  assume  that  he  is  one. 

"Never  pound  the  desk  or  shake  your  finger  at  a 
prospect.  Don't  holler  at  him  as  if  sound  would  take 
the  place  of  sense.  Don't  advance  at  him  and  talk  so 
excitedly  under  his  nose  that  he  will  back  away  from 
you  for  fear  of  being  run  over,  as  if  you  were  a  trolley- 
car.  I  have  seen  a  sales  agent  back  a  prospect  half  way 
across  a  room  in  this  way. 

"Don't  compel  a  man  to  listen  to  you  by  loud  or  fast 
talking.  Don't  make  him  feel  that  he  can't  get  a  word 
in  edgewise  and  has  to  listen  until  you  are  out  of  breath. 
That  is  not  the  sort  of  compulsion  to  make  customers. 
But  make  him  believe  that  ^ou  have  something  to  say 
and  will  say  it  quickly. 

Put  Yourself  in  His  Place. 

"Put  yourself  in  his  place  from  the  very  start.  Make 
him  feel,  not  that  you  are  trying  to  force  your  business 
upon  him,  but  that  you  want  to  discuss  how  his  business 
may  be  benefited  by  you. 

"If  immediately  on  your  introduction  he  says,  'Oh,  I 
am  too  busy  to  talk  about  that  now,'  say  to  him  immedi- 
ately: 'All  right;  I'll  call  again  if  you  can't  spare  me  a 
minute  now.  I  want  a  few  minutes,  if  you  can  spare 
them,  to  learn  something  about  your  method  of  handling 


THE  APPROACH.  133 

transactions,  if  you  don't  mind  telling  me.'  If  he  will 
do  so,  discuss  his  methods  without  trying  to  force  your 
ideas  or  any  cash  register  talk  up  to  him.  Let  him  see 
that  you  mean  what  you  say.  Learn  what  he  will  tell 
you  and  make  notes  of  it. 

"If  he  is  inclined  at  the  start  to  argue,  and  says,  'Oh, 
we  have  a  system  of  our  own  that  is  perfectly  satisfac- 
tory, and  I  don't  care  to  change  it,'  or  'It's  a  good  deal 
better  than  anything  you  can  show  me/  don't  contra- 
dict him  flatly,  but  say  to  him:  'Perhaps  you  are  right. 
It  may  be  that  I  can't  suggest  anything  which  will 
interest  you.  At  the  same  time,  I'd  be  glad  to  know 
something  about  your  system.  You  can  probably  teach 
me  something,  and  if  I  can't  interest  you  it  won't  do 
any  harm  to  either  of  us.' 

Keep  Your  Temper. 

"If  he  bursts  out  with  violent  invective  against  the 
Company  or  our  registers,  do  not  reply  in  the  same 
tone.  Remember,  'a  soft  answer  turneth  away  wrath.' 
Say  to  him:  'I  think  you  rather  misunderstand  us,  Mr. 
Johnson.  What  you  say  is  pretty  harsh.  I  am  sure  you 
must  have  been  misinformed  on  the  subject.  No  doubt 
you  are  a  fair-minded  man.  If  you  knew  the  exact  facts 
of  the  case  I  am  sure  you  would  modify  your  opinion.' 

"Whatever  you  do,  do  not  antagonize  him.  Do  not 
interrupt  him  when  he  is  talking;  let  him  have  his  say. 
Do  not  let  him  feel  that  you  are  a  bore,  or  that  you  are 
trying  to  get  around  him  by  any  tricky  misrepresenta- 
tion of  your  purpose  or  your  business.  Make  him  feel 
that  you  are  honest  with  him  from  the  start;  that  you 
have  come  to  talk  business,  but  that  you  do  not  mean  to 
intrude  on  him  if  he  cannot  spare  a  moment;  that  you 


134  THE  APPROACH. 

sincerely  believe  his  interests  are  identical  with  yours; 
that  you  are  only  anxious  to  discuss  the  matter  impar- 
tially. Let  him  feel  that  you  are  a  gentleman. 

Say  It  Quickly. 

"The  instant  a  prospect  shows  a  readiness  to  listen, 
give  him  your  story  quickly  in  a  nutshell.  If  he  evinces 
a  willingness  to  hear  you,  take  his  willingness  for 
granted.  Don't  make  a  long  preamble.  Don't  waste 
a  lot  of  words  saying,  'If  you  will  only  listen  to  me  I 
will  tell  you  this,'  or,  'If  you  will  free  your  mind  from 
prejudice  I  will  explain  that,'  or,  If  you  will  only  give 
me  your  attention  for  a  few  moments  I  propose  to  tell 
you  the  other.'  Don't  'propose,'  but  tell  him. 

"By  your  previous  investigation  of  his  store  and 
methods  you  are  prepared  to  give  him  facts — not  sur- 
mises. You  know  his  weaknesses.  Let  these  truths,  like 
solid  shot,  go  straight  home.  In  a  quiet,  dignified  way, 
show  the  strength  of  your  position. 

The  Purpose  of  the  Interview. 

"Your  purpose  in  this  interview  is  so  to  interest  the 
merchant  in  a  cash  register  system  for  his  store  that  he 
will  agree  to  come  to  your  hotel  or  office  to  examine  the 
cash  register  and  listen  to  your  demonstration.  He  must 
not  come  out  of  curiosity,  but  must  have  been  so  im- 
pressed by  your  statements  that  he  feels  that  there  are, 
or  may  be,  losses  in  his  store  which  a  cash  register  will 
correct. 

"Precious  time  is  frittered  away  by  demonstrating  a 
register  to  a  merchant  who  is  simply  curious.  You  can 
put  a  cash  register  on  a  barrel  at  a  street  corner  and 
collect  a  crowd  of  curiosity  seekers,  but  the  merchant 


THE  APPROACH.  135 

who  buys  is  the  merchant  who  has  been  impressed  at  your 
first  interview,  and  comes  to  your  office  seeking 
knowledge. 

Sell  Something  Better. 

"Do  not  attempt  to  close  a  sale  on  your  first  interview. 
If  a  merchant  says  he  wants  a  certain  cash  register,  and 
is  willing  to  sign  an  order  for  it,  take  the  order  and  his 
money,  but  remember  that  your  duty  is  not  done  until 
you  have  taken  him  to  your  office,  made  a  demonstra- 
tion, and  attempted  to  sell  him  something  better. 

"The  greatest  fault  with  which  we  have  to  contend 
in  cash  register  salesmen  today  is  that  they  are  willing 
to  accept  any  order  that  can  be  easily  gotten,  instead  of 
making  an  effort  to  systematize  a  man's  store,  and  so 
interest  him  that  he  will  purchase  a  high-grade  register, 
which  gives  100  per  cent,  more  protection  than  any  low- 
grade  register  can  do. 

No  Imaginary  Demonstration. 

"Don't  attempt  any  imaginary  demonstration  with- 
out a  register.  If  the  prospect  asks  definite  questions, 
you  should,  of  course,  never  evade  them.  Answer  them 
explicitly  and  plainly,  but  don't  go  into  any  further 
particulars  than  are  necessary  to  clearly  answer  his  ques- 
tions. If  any  of  them  require  a  register  at  hand  to 
answer  properly,  say,  uncompromisingly,  'That  is  a 
thing  that  I  can  show  you  very  plainly  with  a  register, 
but  it  cannot  be  explained  without  one.' 

In  a  Nutshell. 

"The  gist  of  your  whole  story  is  this:  The  prospect 
is  losing  more  money  through  errors  in  store  transactions 


186  THE  APPROACH. 

than  he  realizes,  and  he  needs  a  cash  register  to  stop 
these  losses. 

"His  skepticism  on  these  two  points  is  the  mainstay 
of  all  his  objections.  The  only  radical  reason  why  he 
does  not  buy  the  register  is  that  he  does  not  believe  he 
is  losing  a  great  deal  of  money  through  mistakes  in 
store  transactions,  or  that  he  will  not  pay  the  price  he 
thinks  a  register  sells  for  because  he  does  not  know 
its  value. 

"His  objections  may  take  various  forms,  but  they  all 
lead  to  these  main  conclusions,  and  the  salesman's  first 
purpose  is  to  show  him  if  he  is  not  already  aware  of  it, 
that  he  is  losing  more  than  he  realizes. 

Don't  Be  Too  Blunt. 

"But  this  must  be  done  cautiously.  Few  men  are 
ready  to  jump  quickly  to  a  logical  conclusion.  A  store- 
keeper seldom  believes  all  at  once  that  he  is  losing  a  great 
deal  of  money  through  errors  in  store  transactions.  If 
you  tell  him  that  bluntly,  he  may  discredit  both  that  and 
all  your  other  statements.  But  he  is  usually  willing  to 
admit  that  he  loses  a  little  now  and  then.  You  must 
gradually,  point  by  point,  'show'  him  that  what  he  thinks 
is  merely  'a  little  now  and  then/  added  together  actually 
amounts  to  a  great  deal. 

Be  Brief  if  Necessary. 

"If  he  demands  brief,   comprehensive   answers,   be 

ready  with  them.    Suppose  he  says: 

"  'Why  do  I  need  a  cash  register?'    A  good  answer  is: 
'  'Because  it  will  pay  you  a  greater  profit  than  any 

other  thing  in  your  store.' 

'  'How  will  it?'  is  logically  the  next  question. 


THE  APPROACH.  187 

*  'By  preventing  the  mistakes  and  errors  which  are, 
I  think,  occurring  in  your  store  today.' 

Have  Definite  Answers  Ready. 

"He  may  say,  'I  have  a  good  system  already,'  or,  'My 
own  family  attends  to  the  store,'  or,  'I  look  out  for 
things  myself;  I  know  everything  that  is  going  on,'  or 
'My  clerks  are  honest  and  careful.' 

"The  Manual  gives  explicit  answers  to  these  questions. 
It  should  be  carefully  studied.  The  Company,  from 
time  to  time,  gives  apt  arguments  which  many  of  our  best 
salesmen  have  found  effective  in  answering  numerous 
other  objections.  Every  good  point  should  be  thor- 
oughly absorbed  by  every  salesman,  so  that  he  is  always 
ready  to  answer  aptly  by  itself  any  question  raised  in 
evident  faith. 

A  Broom  of  an  Argument. 

"But  the  best  preparation  for  answering  trivial  objec- 
tions is  to  go,  in  your  own  mind,  right  down  to  the  root 
of  the  matter  and  be  thoroughly  armed  and  equipped 
with  the  knowledge  of  his  weak  points  and  one  or  two 
comprehensive  replies  which  sweep  away  all  obstacles. 

"Answering  the  numerous  petty  objections  which  a 
thoughtless  prospect  sometimes  raises  is  like  picking  up 
separate  specks  of  dirt  off  the  floor.  It  is  often  better 
to  have  one  good,  strong  broom  of  an  argument  and 
sweep  them  all  away  at  once. 

On  Your  Own  Ground. 

"You  must  first  find  out  what  is  in  his  mind.  Let 
him  state  his  ideas,  ask  questions,  or  air  his  troubles,  if 
he  has  any,  freely.  Meet  them  fairly  and  squarely, 
without  evasion.  Sympathize  with  him.  Look  at  mat- 


138  THE  APPROACH. 

ters  from  his  standpoint.     Then  get  him  on  your  own 
ground  as  soon  as  possible. 

"Instead  of  answering  specifically  a  long  list  of  trivial 
questions,  it  is  sometimes  best  to  jump  right  over  them, 
so  to  speak,  and  come  down  solid  on  a  few  particular 
points  which  will  open  the  prospect's  eyes  to  what  is 
probably  going  on  in  his  store.  Suppose  you  say  to  him 
something  like  this: 

Facts  He  Must  Admit. 

"  'Mr.  Williams,  it  is  certainly  a  fact  that  no  matter 
how  careful  a  merchant  and  his  clerks  may  be  they  will 
sometimes  forget  to  charge  a  credit  sale  or  to  n.ake  a 
proper  record  of  some  other  transaction.  Now,  you  and 
your  clerks  may  be  as  careful  as  any  one  can  be;  you 
may  have  an  excellent  system;  yet  you  are  only  human. 
Every  man  is  liable  to  make  mistakes.  No  man  is  in- 
fallible. In  spite  of  your  carefulness  and  your  system, 
you  will  admit  that  even  in  your  store  mistakes  do  some- 
times creep  in.' 

"Every  storekeeper  will  admit  this.  Then  narrow 
the  question  down  a  little  more  closely: 

"  'Couldn't  a  small  credit  purchase  go  out  of  your 
store  uncharged  today  without  your  ever  finding  it  out? 
Couldn't  your  cash  be  a  few  cents  short  tonight  without 
your  ever  missing  the  money?' 

"He  must  allow  that  this  is  possible.  He  must  also 
admit  that  if  it  happens  once  it  might  happen  again; 
and  if  you  can  plant  deeply  and  strongly  in  his  mind 
the  conviction  that  he  is  losing  money,  he  will  then  nat- 
urally be  glad  to  investigate  any  means  which  promises 
to  save  it  for  him. 

"Convincing  a  man  that  he  needs  help  is  nine-tenths 


THE  APPROACH.  139 

of  the  battle.  If  you  were  trying  to  sell  a  consumption 
cure  there  would  be  no  use  in  telling  how  wonderfully 
effective  it  is  to  a  man  who  doesn't  believe  he  has  con- 
sumption. Your  first  efforts  must  be  directed  to  pointing 
out  the  prospect's  'complaint.'  Unless  he  sees  this  he 
isn't  ready  for  the  remedy. 

The  Remedy. 

"When  you  know  he  realizes  that  he  is  losing  con- 
siderable money  through  errors  in  recording  store  tran- 
sactions, ask  him  the  question  fairly  and  squarely: 

;<  'If  I  can  show  you  something  that  makes  such  losses 
absolutely  impossible,  that  compels  the  proper  entry  of 
every  transaction,  whether  you  are  in  the  store  or  not, 
that  will  give  you  a  definite  record  of  every  cent  received 
in  your  store  or  paid  out  of  your  cash  drawer,  so  that 
you  always  know  positively  how  much  money  ought  to  be 
in  the  drawer  and  exactly  what  has  been  received  on  ac- 
count, and  that  will  give  you  a  positive  record  of  every 
credit  sale,  so  that  goods  can  never  go  out  of  your  store 
uncharged,  wouldn't  that  interest  you  ?  Isn't  that  worth 
your  while  to  investigate?' 

A  Broad  Distinction. 

"You  should  inform  yourself  as  fully  as  possible  con- 
cerning the  prospect's  present  system  before  attempt- 
ing to  draw  comparisons  between  it  and  the  National 
Cash  Register  system.  Don't  talk  about  what  you  know 
nothing  of.  But  if  the  prospect  insists  that  the  system 
he  is  using  is  absolutely  reliable  and  that  the  National 
Cash  Register  cannot  be  more  so,  a  broad  distinction 
should  be  drawn  between  our  register  and  all  other  sys- 
tems. And  you  should  say  in  effect  that  any  system 


140  THE  APPROACH. 

which  depends  on  human  memory  is  sure  to  involve  mis- 
takes and  losses.  He  will  probably  say: 

"  'Your  cash  register  depends  upon  memory,  doesn't 
it?'  The  answer  is: 

"  'No.  Its  use  becomes  automatic.  It  does  not  de- 
pend upon  memory.'  If  he  then  says: 

"  'Why  doesn't  it?  How  is  it  automatic?'  you  must 
say: 

"  'Come  to  my  office  and  I  will  show  you  that  what 
I  say  is  true ;  but  it  cannot  be  explained  without  having 
the  register  at  hand.' 

Back  to  First  Principles. 

"If  he  says  he  can't  afford  to  buy  a  register,  that  ob- 
jection shows  that  you  have  not  fixed  the  main  idea  of 
your  argument  fairly  in  his  mind.  The  answer  is : 

"  'You  can  afford  a  thing  that  pays  a  good  profit,  can't 
you?  If  this  register  is  only  an  expense  and  doesn't 
pay  you  a  profit,  you  don't  want  it.  You  can't  afford 
to  have  any  useless  expenses  in  your  business.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  it  will  be  a  profitable,  money-making  in- 
vestment, you  want  to  look  into  it  just  as  much  as  I 
want  to  have  you  do  so. 

'If  I  were  trying  to  sell  you  a  class  of  goods  that 
you  had  never  sold  in  your  store,  and  showed  you  how 
350,000  merchants  were  making  more  money  out  of 
them  than  out  of  any  other  goods  in  their  stores,  you 
wouldn't  say,  without  looking  at  the  goods,  "I  can't 
afford  them."  You  would  be  glad  to  come  up  to  the 
hotel  to  look  at  them  and  see  what  they  were. 

'If  350,000  merchants  have  found  this  register  to 
be  a  money-saving  investment,  there  must  be  something 
in  it  worth  investigating,  and  you  can't  afford  as  a  busi- 


THE  APPROACH. 

ness  man  to  turn  it  down,  without  at  least  looking  into 
it  and  deciding  the  question  for  yourself.' 

"Impress  upon  him  again  and  again  without  ceasing, 
and  until  he  completely  comprehends  the  idea,  that  the 
register  is  not  an  expense,  but  a  profitable  investment, 
and  that  there  are  chances  for  loss  with  his  present  sys- 
tem; that  you  don't  expect  and  don't  want  to  sell  it  to 
him  until  you  have  convinced  him  of  this;  and  that  the 
only  thing  you  insist  on  is  that  he  thoroughly  investigate 
it.  If  you  convince  him  he  ought  at  least  to  do  this, 
you  accomplish  all  that  need  be  done  or  attempted  in 
the  first  interview  without  a  register  at  hand. 

"The  final  thing  is  to  make  a  definite  appointment 
with  him  to  come  to  a  demonstration.  If  your  other 
work  has  been  properly  done,  this  part  will  not  be  dif- 
ficult. If  you  have  made  him  realize  the  imperative 
necessity  of  the  case,  he  will  be  glad  to  make  an  appoint- 
ment and  keep  it. 

Answer  a  Direct  Question  Directly. 

"When  a  man  asks  you  a  direct  question,  answer  it 
directly.  Don't  dodge.  Don't  go  round  about  and  be- 
gin with  a  lot  of  explanations. 

"If  he  says,  'How  is  this?'  or  'What  about  that?'  don't 
begin  by  saying,  'Mr. ,  when  this  Com- 
pany first  went  into  business,'  etc.  Don't  give  him  a  lot 
of  ancient  history  and  gradually  lead  up  to  the  answer 
to  his  question,  or  lead  away  from  it  trying  to  make  him 
forget  it,  but  answer  him  directly,  instantly,  plainly. 
Then,  if  your  answer  is  founded  upon  other  facts,  or  the 
history  and  general  policy  of  the  Company,  bring  it  out 
afterward. 

"Never  let  yourself  be  stumped  a  second  time  by  the 


142  THE  APPROACH. 

same  question.  There  is  no  excuse  for  any  salesman 
being  at  loss  to  reply  to  any  question  put  to  him  if  he 
will  take  pains  to  understand  his  subject  and  avail  him- 
self of  the  training  and  suggestions  and  help  which  the 
Sales  Department  extends  to  him  at  all  times. 

Make  an  Appointment. 

"Let  your  argument  be  strong  and  unwavering  on  the 
point  that  a  business  man  should  see  a  thing  for  himself 
and  fairly  understand  a  proposition  before  he  rejects  it. 
Make  the  appointment  definite.  Make  him  feel  that  it 
is  not  a  thing  to  slight  or  hurry  over;  but  a  matter  of 
genuine  importance,  worth  all  the  time  it  requires. 

"When  making  an  appointment  for  a  prospect,  make 
it  definite,  and  make  him  feel  responsible  for  keeping  it. 
A  common  mistake  is  to  accept  a  man's  nod  and  'Yes,  yes, 
I'll  be  down  there  Tuesday/  or  something  like  that,  for 
an  appointment.  Make  him  feel  the  necessity  of  look- 
ing carefully  into  the  question.  Impress  him  so  strongly 
with  the  importance  of  it  that  he  will  be  there. 

"A  good  plan  is  to  write  the  appointment  on  a  card 
and  liand  it  to  the  prospect  before  you  leave  the  store, 
something  like  this: 

Tuesday,  at  11  o'clock,  at  the Hotel, 

or  No Street,  to  meet  Mr.  Jones  and 

have  the  National  Cash  Register  explained. 

"When  the  appointed  time  comes  for  him,  to  leave  his 
store  to  go  and  meet  you,  be  there  at  his  store,  that  your 
presence  may  remind  him  of  his  promise  to  meet  you  and 
go  with  you  to  your  office  or  hotel.  There  may  be  some 
exceptions  to  this,  in  a  large  city,  where  the  office  mana- 
ger is  expected  to  wait  upon  all  callers,  but  no  agent 


THE  APPROACH.  143 

should,  under  any  circumstances,  wait  at  a  hotel  or  office 
for  a  merchant  to  keep  an  appointment.  Your  time  is 
too  valuable,  the  appointment  is  too  important,  the 
chances  of  losing  the  sale  too  great  to  leave  to  a  mer- 
chant's memory  the  keeping  of  your  engagement. 

Some  Good  Appeals  for  Demonstration. 

"  'Mr.  Blank,  I  have  made  some  little  investigation  of 
your  methods  of  conducting  your  business,  and  have 
taken  the  liberty  to  jot  down  on  this  card  a  few  facts. 
My  business  is  that  of  a  systems  expert,  as  well  as  cash 
register  salesman.  We  can  always  gain  good  informa- 
tion from  a  storekeeper,  and  can  often  give  him  some 
valuable  hints  about  the  conduct  of  his  business.  If  you 
will  kindly  give  me  a  little  information  about  the  system 
used  in  your  store,  I  can,  perhaps,  in  return,  give  you 
some  hints  that  will  be  of  value  to  you. 

'I  see  you  have  two  cash  drawers  in  your  store. 
(Mention  the  number  you  may  have  been  able  to  find.) 
May  I  ask  what  per  cent,  of  your  business  is  cash  ?  The 
balance  of  your  business,  then,  is  done  on  credit?  (If 
this  question  is  answered,  as  it  probably  will  be,  you  have 
thus  obtained  two  important  pieces  of  information  that 
will  be  utilized  later). 

'I  notice  your  salesmen  are  entering  their  charge 
sales  in  duplicating  sales  books.  Do  you  transfer  these 
to  a  ledger  at  night?  Have  you  a  bookkeeper?  I  see 
four  clerks  at  work  in  your  store.  How  many  clerks 
and  drivers  have  you  altogether?  How  many  sales- 
people have  you  who  handle  your  money?  Do  you  use 
trading  stamps,  or  any  discount  plan?  Do  you  buy  or 
exchange  much  produce? 


144  THE  APPROACH. 

Cash  Sales. 

'  'Mr.  Blank,  I  ask  these  questions,  not  from  idle  curi- 
osity, but  so  that  I  may  be  able  to  show  you  how  and  why 
a  cash  register  will  save  you  money.  I  am  convinced  that 
it  will  do  so,  and  that  you  should  investigate  our  systems. 
I  want  first  to  point  out  where  I  think  the  leaks  may 
occur  in  your  store.  You  have,  in  the  first  place,  open 
cash  drawers.  Do  you  know  how  much  money  is  in  those 
cash  drawers  at  this  time  ? 

"  'Do  you  know  at  the  close  of  the  day  whether  mis- 
takes and  carelessness  have  not  cut  down  the  amount  of 
money  which  you  should  receive  from  those  drawers? 
If  a  counterfeit  bill  or  coin  is  taken  in,  do  you  know  the 
name  of  the  clerk  who  took  it  in?  Are  you  willing  to 
trust  the  money  you  spend  your  life  to  get  to  that  open 
cash  drawer?  With  a  cash  register  we  can  answer  these 
questions,  and  stop  these  leaks.  Will  it  not  pay  you  to 
investigate  it?'  " 


N.B. — It  will  be  seen  that  the  attitude  throughout  the 
approach  is  to  show  the  prospect  that  you  can  save  him 
money. 


CHAPTER  X. 
THE  DEMONSTRATION. 

In  the  Demonstration  the  object  is  to  create  desire  on 
the  part  of  the  customer,  hence  all  the  selling  points  must 
be  carefully  marshaled  in  advance.  The  salesman  must 
give  the  prospect  "sharp,  clean-cut,  specific  ideas  about 
the  proposition,  avoiding  all  generalities  and  digres- 
sions." The  prospect  must  be  convinced,  first,  that  he 
needs  a  new  system  or  a  new  article  or  new  stock ;  second 
that  your  goods  have  advantages  that  make  it  worth  his 
while  to  buy  them ;  third,  that  the  time  to  buy  is  now. 

In  the  steps  of  the  sale  which  succeed  the  Approach, 
the  salesmen  of  the  National  Cash  Register  Company 
are  very  fully  instructed.  The  following  quotations 
from  the  National  Cash  Register  Manual  may  be  read 
with  profit  by  all  salesmen,  as  they  are  in  the  main  ap- 
plicable to  many  lines  of  business: 

Know  Your  Registers. 

"Every  salesman  ought  to  thoroughly  understand  the 
specific  advantages  of  each  machine  and  realize  their 
full  value  in  practical  use.  In  leading  the  prospect 
from  one  machine  to  another  you  should  bring  out 
pointedly  the  difference  between  them.  You  should  be 
so  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  definite  uses  of  each 
machine  as  to  make  up  your  mind  very  quickly  which 
register  a  prospect  ought  to  have.  Do  not  allow  him  to 

I.B.L.  Vol.  2—10 


146  THE  DEMONSTRATION. 

fix  his  mind  upon  any  less  efficient  machine,  and  also  be 
careful  not  to  show  him  a  higher-priced  one  than  he  is 
likely  to  buy,  as  it  might  make  him  dissatisfied  with  the 
one  he  should  get.  If  he  shows  interest  in  a  higher- 
priced  one,  which  you  are  certain  he  will  not  or  ought 
not  to  buy,  say  to  him: 

'Mr.  Brown,  that  is  a  high-priced  register,  but  it  is 
not  suited  to  your  business,  and  you  could  not  get  the 
full  benefit  of  it.  I  want  you  to  get  the  most  for  your 
money.' 

Which  Machine  to  Sell. 

"Always  remember  that  it  is  your  business  to  sell  to 
any  storekeeper  the  machine  which  he  ought  to  have. 
This  does  not  necessarily  mean  the  machine  which  he 
thinks  he  should  have,  any  more  than  it  means  the  one 
you  would  prefer  to  sell  because  of  the  commission. 

"While  it  is  bad  salesmanship  to  sell  a  man  a  machine 
that  he  cannot  pay  for,  or  one  whose  good  points  he  can- 
not get  the  benefit  of  in  his  business,  it  is  equally  bad 
salesmanship  to  sell  a  machine  which  is  lacking  certain 
advantages  which  would  be  greatly  to  his  benefit  simply 
because  their  first  cost  is  a  little  more. 

True  Economy. 

"You  can  always  feel  pretty  safe  in  relying  upon  the 
old-time  maxim  that  'the  best  is  the  cheapest.'  But  very 
few  men  are  far-sighted  enough  to  choose  a  high-priced 
article  of  any  kind,  even  though  it  be  in  the  end  by  far 
the  most  economical.  It  is  your  business  to  realize  this 
and  make  the  prospect  realize  it. 

"If  the  salesman  hasn't  properly  studied  the  subject, 
he  may  agree  with  the  storekeeper  that  a  low-priced  reg- 


THE  DEMONSTRATION.  147 

ister  will  answer  his  purpose,  when  in  reality,  if  a  man's 
business  is  such  that  he  can  get  the  benefit  of  a  higher 
type  of  machine,  it  is  worth  many  times  more  to  him 
than  the  difference  in  price. 

"It  is  something  like  selling  clothing.  If  a  teamster, 
whose  business  keeps  him  out  in  all  sorts  of  rough  wea- 
ther, is  buying  an  overcoat,  a  good  salesman  will  not 
try  to  sell  him  a  fine  French  Montagnac;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  will  not  sell  a  coarse  frieze  overcoat,  more 
than  half  cotton,  to  a  man  who  has  any  appearance  of 
going  into  good  society.  A  good  salesman  will  try  to 
sell  him  the  very  best  coat  he  can  induce  him  to  buy, 
knowing  it's  real  economy. 

Don't  Take  the  Defensive. 

"Don't  put  yourself  in  a  defensive  attitude.  Don't 
talk  as  if  you  were  trying  to  prove  that  you  are  not  a 
liar.  When  you  say  a  thing  is  so,  state  it  as  an  undeni- 
able fact.  If  it  is  a  question  of  veracity,  don't  protest 
violently  that  it  is  so,  and  altogether  so,  whether  he  be- 
lieves it  or  not,  and  that  you  can  prove  it,  etc.  State 
only  facts,  and  assume  that  he  believes  you. 

Be  Polite. 

"Do  not  be  over-familiar  with  a  prospect.  In  the 
case  of  a  demonstration  never  keep  him  standing.  Do 
not  allow  him  to  be  uncomfortable  in  any  way.  When 
he  tries  to  speak,  give  him  a  chance.  Stop  talking,  and 
hear  what  he  has  to  say.  Treat  him  as  you  would  any 
gentleman  who  called  on  you. 

Make  Him  Feel  Its  Importance. 

"We  want  to  impress  upon  all  our  salesmen,  and 
especially  the  new  members  of  our  selling  force,  that  the 


148  THE  DEMONSTRATION. 

fundamental  idea  to  be  kept  in  mind  in  demonstrating  a 
National  Cash  Register,  and  the  very  first  point  to  im- 
press upon  a  prospect  is  the  importance  of  the  matter  he 
is  inquiring  into.  Make  him  realize  that  he  is  not  listen- 
ing to  the  demonstration  to  oblige  you,  or  out  of  curios- 
ity. If  he  is  the  sort  of  man  who  will  take  time  from 
his  business  to  be  entertained  by  you,  he  is  not  the  man 
you  want  to  talk  to.  You  cannot  afford  to  waste  time  on 
him.  You  want  to  make  your  prospect  feel  that  the 
matter  is  of  serious  consequence  to  him. 

Warm  Him  Up  Again. 

"Unless  you  can  make  the  demonstration  immediately 
following  your  first  interview,  the  prospect  has  prob- 
ably been  so  occupied  with  his  own  affairs  as  to  have  for- 
gotten much  that  you  said  to  him,  and  his  interest  is  not 
so  warm  as  when  he  made  the  appointment.  You  must 
renew  his  interest  in  the  whole  subject  before  you  pro- 
ceed to  details.  You  should  say  something  to  this  ef- 
fect: 

'Mr.  Prospect,  I  am  glad  to  see  you  are  in  earnest 
about  this  matter.  I  hope  I  have  made  it  plain  to  you 
just  how  I  feel  about  it.  I  want  you  to  look  into  the 
question  with  your  own  eyes  and  decide  according  to 
your  own  convictions. 

"  'What  I  am  going  to  show  you  is  more  than  a  mere 
convenience.  As  I  said  the  other  day,  it  will  absolutely 
prevent  all  the  little  losses  that  occur  in  every  store 
through  errors  in  recording  transactions  with  customers. 
I  know  this  to  be  a  fact,  but  I  want  to  explain  it  to  you 
so  that  you  will  be  thoroughly  satisfied  in  your  own 
mind.' 


THE  DEMONSTRATION.  149 

Know  His  Business. 

" Just  as  you  expect  a  prospect  to  look  carefully  into 
your  business,  you  should  have  previously  studied  his, 
and  should  so  thoroughly  understand  the  specific  advan- 
tages of  each  of  your  machines  as  to  have  a  pretty  defi- 
nite idea  about  which  one  is  best  suited  to  his  business. 
You  cannot  have  a  fixed  conviction  on  this  point  unless 
you  understand  your  own  business  and  something  of  his; 
and  without  having  such  a  conviction  yourself  it  is  im- 
possible to  impress  it  upon  a  prospective  purchaser. 

"Having  previously  studied  his  business,  give  the  mat- 
ter some  consideration  before  the  time  of  your  appoint- 
ment. Carefully  prepare  the  case,  putting  down  on 
a  piece  of  paper  or  a  blackboard  the  weak  points  in  his 
system,  and,  opposite  them,  how  our  register  will  stop 
this  particular  leak.  After  you  are  through  with  this 
demonstration  you  can  sum  your  case  up  by  presenting 
to  the  merchant  these  well-thought-out  arguments,  and 
you  will  find  it  will  have  an  immense  effect  on  him. 
There  will  be  no  haphazard  guess  work  about  your  judg- 
ment. It  will  be  mature,  and  your  conclusion  one  that 
you  can  justify. 

Aid  Him  in  Choosing. 

"Put  yourself  in  his  place.  You  know  how  it  is  when 
you  are  buying  something  in  a  store  and  ask  for  an  ar- 
ticle for  some  definite  purpose.  If  the  salesman  spreads 
out  before  you  a  dozen  different  things  and  has  no  opin- 
ion to  offer  as  to  which  is  best,  you  feel  that  he  doesn't 
know  his  business.  How  much  more  right  has  a  pros- 
pect to  feel  that  way  if  you  have  no  decided  preference 


150  THE  DEMONSTRATION. 

to  offer  to  aid  him  in  such  an  important  choice  as  a  cash 
register? 

"It  is  a  great  advantage  to  show  him  the  lower-priced 
registers,  leading  him  from  one  to  another  up  to  the 
better  ones,  for  purpose  of  comparison,  yet  all  those 
shown  previously  to  the  one  you  believe  he  ought  to 
have  should  be  treated  as  if  they  were  a  single  flight  of 
minor  steps  leading  up  to  the  one  important  landing,  the 
register  you  believe  he  should  have. 

On  Taking  a  Merchant  Up  the  Line. 

'  'Mr.  Blank,  the  growth  of  the  cash  register  business 
is  a  thing  I  wish  you  to  understand,  as  I  believe  it  will 
have  an  important  bearing  upon  your  purchase.  The 
cash  register  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  merchants'  de- 
sire for  protection.  It  was  the  result  of  the  merchants' 
outcry  against  the  almost  criminal  carelessness  of  the 
open  cash  drawer.  Invented  and  manufactured  first  by 
a  merchant,  in  order  that  he  might  compel  his  clerks  to 
register  and  indicate  the  amount  of  the  purchase,  it  has 
been  developed  and  completed  by  another  merchant  who 
had  lost  many  thousands  of  dollars  through  the  careless- 
ness of  the  clerks  in  a  retail  store.' ' 

Size  Your  Man. 

"Learn  to  size  your  man,  his  peculiarities  and  mood. 
All  men  like  honesty,  politeness  and  earnestness.  All 
men  admire  persistence.  Most  men  want  facts. 

"Nine  times  out  of  ten  you  can  bank  on  facts  to  fetch 
your  man.  Make  them  clear  as  glass;  strong  and  few. 
Don't  bewilder  a  man  with  a  mass  of  trifling  arguments. 
Tie  to  a  few  important  points,  drive  them  in  and  clinch 
them.  But  tell  him  what  he  wants  to  know.  If  a  trifle 
will  close  him,  it's  no  trifle. 


THE  DEMONSTRATION.  151 

"A  few  men  can  be  driven;  the  majority  must  be  led. 
Look  him  in  the  eyes  steadily  and  frequently.  Learn  to 
understand  the  expression  in  a  man's  face  which  says, 
'Almost  persuaded,'  and  the  other  which  says:  'Hang 
the  fellow!  I  wish  he  was  in  Hades!'  Act  accordingly. 

"Some  men  like  a  little  oratory  or  a  spice  of  humor, 
but  that  is  dangerous  ground.  Beware  of  the  man  who 
smiles  and  nods  and — never  buys.  Put  your  trust  in 
earnestness,  candor,  and  facts. 

The  Salesman  Knows  Both  Sides  of  the  Question. 

"Many  salesmen  forget  that  the  prospect  knows  little 
or  nothing  about  the  register;  that  he  (the  salesman) 
knows  all  about  it.  Therefore,  unless  he  is  cautious  he 
will  slight  small  points  and  fail  to  impress  them  upon 
the  mind  of  the  prospect.  You  can  never  tell  what  point 
will  impress  a  man  most  about  the  register;  therefore  it 
is  important  to  tell  all  about  everything. 

The  Demonstration. 

"When  you  have  gotten  a  prospect  to  a  demonstration 
you  have  accomplished  a  most  important  step.  You  can 
take  it  for  granted  that  he  is  to  some  extent  interested 
in  the  subject.  Now,  by  all  means  make  the  most  of 
that  opportunity.  Say  what  you  have  to  say  to  him 
thoroughly  and  carefully.  Don't  rattle  off  your  dem- 
onstration in  a  hurry  j  as  if  you  were  wound  up  and  had 
to  say  just  so  many  words  to  the  minute.  Give  him  a 
chance  to  speak,  to  ask  question  or  make  objections.  He 
probably  has  certain  ideas  in  his  mind  which  may  be 
a  decided  help  or  a  decided  hindrance  to  your  argument. 
You  ought  to  learn  what  they  are.  Don't  imagine  be- 


152  THE  DEMONSTRATION. 

cause  he  listens  in  silence  that  he  agrees  with  you,  or  even 
understands  all  you  say. 

Speak  Deliberately. 

"Speak  deliberately.  If  you  see  from  a  puzzled  or 
doubtful  look  on  his  face  that  anything  is  not  quite 
plain  to  him,  stop  and  make  it  plain.  Take  time  enough 
to  explain  each  point  thoroughly.  Whenever  you 
make  a  statement  that  is  open  to  question,  be  sure  to 
get  his  assent  to  it  before  you  proceed.  If  he  will  not 
assent  to  it  exactly  as  you  make  it,  modify  it  until  he 
does.  Get  him  to  assent  in  some  degree  to  every  prop- 
osition you  make,  so  that  when  you  get  to  the  general 
result  he  cannot  go  back  and  disagree  with  you.  Don't 
do  this,  however,  as  if  you  were  trying  to  corner  him, 
but  with  a  simple  desire  to  reach  a  reasonable  basis  of 
argument. 

"Cast  aside  all  attempts  at  being  a  clever  talker,  all 
idea  that  there  is  any  trick  of  words  or  manner,  any 
secret  artfulness  about  selling  registers,  and  put  your- 
self in  the  plain,  unaffected  spirit  of  a  man  who  has 
simply  the  truth  to  tell,  and  is  bent  upon  telling  it  in 
the  plainest,  homeliest  way.  Avoid  above  all  things  the 
fatal  mistake  of  demonstrating  to  your  prospect  with  a 
sense  of  fear,  haste  and  uncertainty.  Realize  fully  the 
power  of  the  facts  you  have  behind  you,  and  have  the 
full  confidence  of  your  convictions;  coolly  and  deliber- 
ately make  each  point  clear  and  conclusive,  and  lead  the 
prospect  by  simple  steps  up  to  absolute  conviction. 

Convince  Him. 

"There  is  little  gained  in  carrying  a  prospect  along 
smoothly  through  a  demonstration  without  any  appear- 


THE  DEMONSTRATION.  153 

ance  of  disagreement  if  all  the  while  there  lurks  in  his 
mind  a  question  about  some  important  assertion  you 
have  made.  Even  though  he  doesn't  remember  pre- 
cisely what  point  it  was  upon  which  he  disagreed,  the 
feeling  of  opposition  to  your  argument  as  a  whole  re- 
mains in  his  mind ;  and  no  matter  how  sound  most  of  your 
propositions  may  be,  the  one  that  he  disagrees  with  still 
leaves  a  weak  point,  and  he  is  not  convinced.  'A  chain 
is  no  stronger  than  its  weakest  link.'  If  there  is  one 
weak  link  in  your  argument  it  is  likely  to  fall  apart. 

Be  Natural  and  Sincere. 

"Selling  registers  is  straightforward,  serious  work. 
You  have  a  plain  statement  to  make  of  facts  which  you 
are  convinced  are  true,  and  which  you  are  certain  it  is 
for  the  prospect's  benefit  to  know. 

"You  should  be  just  as  sincere  about  it  as  if  you 
were  a  clergyman  preaching  the  gospel.  If  you  go  at  it 
in  this  sincere  spirit  the  prospect  will  feel  the  importance 
of  what  you  say,  and  it  will  carry  its  due  weight. 

The  First  Stage. 

"A  prospect  must  be  made  to  appreciate  the  general 
statement  that  a  man  may  lose  a  large  amount  of  money 
in  small  sums  which  he  will  never  miss ;  that  it  makes  all 
the  difference  in  the  world  whether  money  is  lost  in  one 
lump  or  the  amount  is  spread  out  in  small  sums  over  a 
long  time.  This  is  a  fundamental  proposition.  It  is 
human  nature. 

"Another  general  proposition  is  that  no  matter  how 
careful  a  storekeeper  and  his  clerks  may  be,  they  are 
only  human,  and  likely  to  make  mistakes,  and  any  sys- 
tem that  depends  on  human  memory  is  open  to  mistakes. 


154  THE  DEMONSTRATION. 

That  is  a  general  truth  which  any  prospect  will  assent 
to.  It  is  personal  to  him ;  it  need  not  antagonize  him  in 
any  way. 

"The  next  point  is:  'Considering  that  "to  err  is  hu- 
man," isn't  it  possible  that  such  errors  sometimes  occur  in 
your  store  to  the  amount  of  a  few  cents?'  Most  any 
prospect  will  admit  that. 

"Next:  You  discover  these  losses  sometimes. 
Couldn't  they  sometimes  happen  without  your  discover- 
ing them?9 

"Next:  'If  this  could  occur  sometimes,  why  couldn't 
it  happen  many  times  and  you  never  suspect  it?  How 
do  you  know  it  doesn't  happen  every  dayV 

"This  is  a  perfectly  logical  climax.  Hardly  any  pros- 
pect can  dodge  this  last  question,  or  fail  to  be  impressed 
by  it,  if  he  has  admitted  the  previous  premises,  and  he 
can  hardly  fail  to  admit  any  of  them. 

The  Second  Stage. 

"When  he  realizes  that  he  may  be  losing  money  every 
day  without  knowing  about  it,  explain  to  him  the  five 
ways  in  store  transaction  through  which  these  losses 
could  occur,  and  how  the  National  Cash  Register  stops 
them.  Then  get  him  to  figure  out  how  much  he  might 
lose  every  day  through  these  sources,  and  how  much  all 
these  losses  would  amount  to  in  a  year,  and  he  will  obtain 
some  surprising  results.  He  will  find  that  they  would 
soon  amount  to  enough  to  pay  for  a  register. 

The  Third  Stage. 

"The  prospect  is  then  ready  for  the  third  step — a 
conviction  that  he  should  get  a  *  National'  immediately. 
It  is  a  simple  proposition  that  if  a  thing  will  save  him 


THE  DEMONSTRATION.  155 

money  every  day,  the  quicker  he  gets  it  the  more  it  will 
save  him,  and  the  longer  he  delays  getting  it  the  more  he 
will  lose. 

"He  must  be  made  to  realize  not  only  that  a  register 
pays  for  itself  in  the  long  run,  but  that  it  begins  to  pay 
for  itself  immediately  after  he  gets  it;  that  it  saves  more 
than  enough  to  pay  for  the  installments  on  it  from  month 
to  month.  A  thorough  understanding  of  this  proposi- 
tion offsets  the  objection,  so  frequently  made,  that  the 
prospect  has  some  other  special  expense  to  meet  first 
before  he  can  afford  the  register. 

"He  should  be  impressed  with  the  fact  that  a  thing 
which  pays  for  itself  is  never  an  expense ;  that  not  only 
can  he  always  afford  a  thing  which  makes  money  for 
him,  but  he  cannot  afford  to  go  without  it  a  single  day. 

"Stick  to  this  one  idea,  always  come  back  to  it,  and 
come  down  hard  on  it;  a  thing  that  pays,  pays" 

N.B. — The  great  object  of  the  demonstration  is  to 
bring  out  the  money-saving  feature. 


"It  is  worth  a  thousand  pounds  per  year  to  have  the 
habit  of  looking  on  the  bright  side  of  things." — Johnson. 


1  'A  man  behind  the  times  is  apt  to  speak  ill  of  them  for 
the  reason  that  nothing  looks  well  from  behind." 

—Holmes. 


"No  abilities,  however  splendid,  can  command  success 
without  intense  labor  and  persevering  application." 

—Stewart. 


CHAPTER  XI. 
CLOSING  THE  SALE. 

We  now  arrive  at  the  final  stage  of  the  salesman's 
work,  which  is  to  prove  whether  his  preliminary  efforts  in 
securing  the  customer's  attention  and  interest  are  to 
bear  fruit  in  the  shape  of  a  signed  order. 

Following  the  Approach  and  a  skilful  Demonstration 
of  the  goods,  there  comes  the  crucial  moment  when  the 
sale  must  be  closed.  On  this  point  the  National  Cash 
Register  Company  instructs  its  salesmen  as  follows: 

Getting  the  Order  Signed. 

"Good  judgment  and  tact  on  the  part  of  a  salesman 
are  necessary  in  presenting  an  order-form  to  a  probable 
purchaser.  If  the  right  moment  is  chosen,  when  he  is 
in  the  proper  mood,  he  does  not  hesitate  to  sign  it.  A 
bright  salesman  will  learn  when  the  proper  time  comes, 
and  present  the  order  for  signature.  It  is  important  to 
have  the  order-form  as  nearly  filled  out  as  possible  in 
advance,  so  that  there  need  be  no  delay  when  the  pros- 
pect has  made  up  his  mind. 

Be  on  the  Alert. 

"Be  on  the  alert  to  discover  when  the  prospect  is  ready 
to  sign.  This  time  may  come  after  the  salesman  has 

157 


158  CLOSING  THE  SALE. 

exhausted  every  argument  at  his  command ;  it  may  come 
when  he  has  finished  the  Primer,  or  it  may  come  at  any 
pause  in  the  demonstration.  But  no  salesman  should  be 
so  eager  to  get  the  prospect's  signature  that  he  will  ap- 
pear to  be  springing  a  trap  on  the  victim. 

Don't  Talk  Him  Out  of  It. 

"A  common  fault  with  many  agents  is  to  overlook 
the  fact  that  the  merchant,  as  a  rule,  is  not  aware  that 
he  must  sign  an  order  for  the  register,  and  unless  he 
displays  an  unmistakable  willingness  to  buy,  the  agent 
is  likely  to  continue  his  demonstration  and  arguments  far 
beyond  the  time  when  he  should  have  stopped. 

"As  a  rule,  very  few  merchants  will  speak  right  out 
and  say,  'You  may  send  me  one.'  When  your  good 
judgment  tells  you  the  time  has  arrived,  take  up  your 
order  and  say:  'Now,  Mr.  Blank,  what  style  of  finish  do 
you  like  on  a  register?  This  finish  is  gold.  We  also 
make  one  of  nickel  and  one  of  dark  bronze.  You  see, 
we  fill  in  here  on  the  order  the  style  of  finish  desired. 
On  the  back  (turning  the  order  over)  is  where  we  order 
the  style  of  name-plate.  You  know  we  furnish  a  name- 
plate  with  this  machine.  Have  you  a  business  card  that 
gives  me  your  initials  or  firm  name?' 

"In  this  way  the  merchant  sees  that  he  is  up  to  the 
point  where  an  order  is  about  to  be  filled  out,  and,  if  he 
has  been  convinced,  you  can  proceed  to  fill  out  an  order 
without  further  protest  on  his  part.  If  necessary,  take 
up  your  pen,  put  it  in  his  hand,  and  tell  him  to  'sign 
here.' 

"The  one  point  to  avoid  is  not  to  convey  the  impres- 
sion to  the  prospect  that  you  are  trying  to  force  the  reg- 
ister upon  him.  Lead  him  up  to  it  in  a  gentle,  matter- 


CLOSING  THE  SALE.  159 

of-fact  way.  If  he  objects,  drop  the  matter  of  order 
immediately  and  go  back  to  your  arguments.  Appeal 
to  his  judgment,  get  him  to  acknowledge  that  what  you 
say  is  true,  then  present  the  order  again.  If  he  refuses 
a  second  time,  take  up  another  line  of  argument,  make 
another  strong  appeal  to  his  judgment,  and  present  the 
order  again ;  and  continue  to  do  this  until  you  sell. 

"Usually  the  hardest  time  an  agent  experiences  in 
closing  a  sale  is  after  the  order  is  presented.  If  this  be 
true,  then  improve  the  very  first  opportunity  to  place 
the  order  before  your  prospective  purchaser. 

"Never  ask  a  man  bluntly  for  his  order.  When  you 
think  he  is  about  ready  to  close,  ask  him  for  a  copy  of 
his  bill  head  so  that  you  may  get  his  correct  address,  etc., 
and  in  this  way  lead  up  to  securing  his  signature. 

Verbal  Agreements  Unbusinesslike. 

"Use  this  when  the  prospect  objects  to  signing  the 
order.  State  that  the  order  is  not  only  an  agreement 
on  his  part  to  take  and  pay  for  the  register,  but  that  it 
is  an  agreement  on  the  part  of  the  National  Cash  Reg- 
ister Company  to  furnish  him  with  the  kind  of  register 
ordered,  having  all  the  latest  improvements ;  to  keep  same 
in  repair,  etc.  Call  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  verbal 
agreements  are  not  business-like,  etc. 

"If  a  man  objects  to  signing  the  order  on  account  of 
its  form,  tell  him  that  it  simply  complies  with  the  law 
in  his  particular  State.  The  holding  clause  is  to  pre- 
vent loss  to  us  in  case  there  should  be  any  change  in  the 
circumstances  of  the  purchaser  from  the  time  of  the  sale 
until  the  payments  are  completed.  This  is  no  more  than 
common  business  precaution,  and  cannot  be  objection- 
able to  any  honest  man,  because  it  binds  us  as  well  as 


100  CLOSING  THE  SALE. 

the  purchaser;  and,  after  we  have  accepted  the  order  at 
the  factory,  the  contract  is  just  as  binding  upon  us  as 
upon  him. 

"Don't  let  there  be  any  misunderstanding  about  the 
order  if  he  signs  it.  One  thing  to  do  is  to  read  the  order 
over  to  him,  and  bear  down  hard  on  the  fact  that  this 
order  cannot  be  countermanded.  If  this  is  done,  and 
every  precaution  taken  to  have  him  understand  that  he 
has  signed  a  contract,  there  will  be  little  chance  for  a 
countermand.  You  cannot  afford  to  waste  your  time  on 
orders  that  will  not  stick. 

Things  to  Remember. 

"Remember  that  you  explain  the  register  to  customers 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  their  orders.  The  part  of  a 
salesman  is  to  do  and  say  that  which  will  bring  about 
this  end.  The  following  suggestions  may  be  helpful 
to  beginners: 

"1.  Do  not  intrude  your  personality  on  the  notice 
of  the  prospect,  but  try  to  make  him  forget  you  and 
become  absorbed  in  studying  the  register.  To  do  this 
you  must  forget  yourself. 

"2.  You  must  interest  the  prospect  in  the  register, 
and  what  it  will  do  for  him,  or  he  will  not  buy  it.  You 
must  get  him  interested  at  the  start,  and  hold  and  deepen 
that  interest  until  you  are  through  with  him.  Watch 
him  carefully  while  you  are  talking,  and  avoid  long 
pauses. 

"3.  The  surest  way  for  a  salesman  to  arouse  and 
keep  up  the  interest  of  the  prospect  in  the  register  is  to 
have  a  genuine  interest  in  it  himself.  No  matter  how 
many  times  he  has  gone  over  the  same  ground,  the  sales- 
man must  not  let  the  Demonstration  become  an  old  story 


CLOSING  THE  SALE. 

and  so  recite  in  a  half-hearted,  humdrum  manner.  Al- 
ways demonstrate  as  if  the  mechanism  and  movements 
of  the  machine  were  as  new  and  wonderful  to  you  as 
they  are  to  your  listener.  Make  every  Demonstration 
enthusiastic  and  fresh.  This  can  be  done,  but  it  will  re- 
quire you  to  be  always  at  your  best  and  full  of  genuine 
love  for  your  work. 

"4.  Show  the  register,  not  talk  about  it.  Show  the 
register,  not  yourself. 

"5.  To  interest  your  listener,  you  must  make  him 
clearly  understand  each  point  as  you  go  along.  There- 
fore, allow  no  carelessness  in  yourself,  but  make  every 
appeal  and  every  point  as  forcible  and  earnest  as  though 
it  were  the  only  thing  you  had  to  depend  on. 

"6.  Never  slight  a  single  point  in  the  Demonstra- 
tion, or  assume  that  it  will  have  no  interest  for  the  pros- 
pect. You  cannot  tell  beforehand  what  will  attract  his 
attention  and  induce  him  to  buy. 

"7.  Know  when  to  stop.  It  may  not  be  necessary  to 
repeat  the  whole  Primer  to  the  prospect  in  order  to  in- 
duce him  to  buy.  He  may  be  ready  to  give  you  his 
order  at  any  time,  and  you  should  be  able  to  tell 
when  that  time  comes.  To  this  end  you  must  watch 
his  face  and  movements,  as  well  as  observe  what  he  says, 
and  present  the  order-blank  at  the  right  time. 

"8.  Pause  and  answer  all  the  prospect's  questions 
clearly  and  fully,  and  inquire,  now  and  then,  as  you 
proceed  to  explain,  if  what  you  have  said  (or  shown) 
is  plain  to  him. 

"9.  Be  able  to  break  off  your  Demonstration  at  any 
point  and  talk  with  the  prospect,  and  then  resume  it 
again  without  hesitation;  but  do  not  hurry. 

I.B.L.  Vol.  2—11 


162  CLOSING  THE  SALE. 

"10.  Never  allow  a  prospect  to  lead  and  shape  th« 
argument,  but  keep  his  undivided  attention  by  not  allow- 
ing his  interest  to  flag  for  an  instant. 

"11.  Appeal  to  a  man's  intelligence  and  fair-mind- 
edness. 

"12.  Say  any  good  thing  you  can  about  his  store 
or  methods.  Do  not  disparage  them  unnecessarily. 

"13.  Do  not  disparage  or  "run  down"  other  con- 
cerns. When  necessary  to  refer  to  them  at  all,  do  so 
with  courtesy,  no  matter  what  they  may  have  said  about 
you. 

"14.  Don't  let  the  prospect  get  an  idea  that  the 
register  is  a  complicated  piece  of  mechanism.  If  he 
evinces  any  such  notion,  tell  him  immediately  it  is  so 
simple  a  child  can  operate  it. 

Things  to  Avoid. 

"Profiting  by  the  experience  of  others,  a  successful 
salesman  will  avoid  their  errors  as  well  as  adopt  their 
excellences.  Representatives  of  the  Company  have  re- 
cently made  critical  examinations  of  the  methods  in 
which  many  different  salesmen  demonstrate  the  register. 
In  their  reports  the  following  mistakes  were  noticed,  and 
are  here  given  for  the  benefit  of  others : 

"1.  A  salesman  spoke  so  rapidly  that  he  did  not 
allow  the  prospect  time  to  take  the  sense  and  force  of 
his  words. 

"2.  A  salesman  passed  too  rapidly  from  one  thing 
to  another  in  his  Demonstration.  A  better  effect  is  pro- 
duced by  making  a  slight  pause  at  the  end  of  each  com- 
plete statement. 

"3.  A  salesman  failed  to  hold  the  attention  of  the 
prospect  and  keep  up  his  interest.  The  Demonstration, 


CLOSING  THE  SALE.  168 

like  a  first-rate  story,  must  grow  more  interesting  to  the 
end.  If  the  prospect's  mind  seems  to  wander,  recall  him 
by  some  direct  appeal,  as,  for  example:  'Is  that  per- 
fectly clear  to  you,  Mr.  Blank?'  'Did  you  understand 
that?'  'Isn't  that  very  simple?' 

"4.  A  salesman  failed  to  lay  sufficient  stress  on  the 
important  points,  so  that  his  talk  soon  became  monoto- 
nous. Always  give  due  emphasis,  and  say  important 
things  impressively.  This  can  be  done  by  proper  modu- 
lation of  the  voice  and  pauses,  by  speaking  more  slowly 
or  by  leaning  forward  toward  the  prospect. 

"5.  A  salesman  failed  to  show  the  sums  of  money 
he  was  registering. 

"6.  After  his  Demonstration  was  finished  a  salesman 
made  an  awkward  pause,  as  if  he  did  not  know  what 
to  say  next.  There  should  be  no  such  breaks,  but  the 
salesman  should  ask  the  prospect  a  question,  or  recapitu- 
late the  strong  points  of  the  Demonstration,  or  intro- 
duce some  supplementary  argument  and  go  on. 

"7.  A  salesman  did  not  take  enough  pains  to  im- 
press upon  the  prospect  the  fact  that  the  register  is  easy 
to  operate,  and  in  no  sense  complicated.  A  prospect 
often  thinks  it  difficult  to  understand,  although  he  does 
not  speak  it. 

"8.  In  explaining  the  parts  a  salesman  recited  the 
words  of  the  Primer,  but  did  not  point  out  the  parts  or 
operate  them.  The  part  should  be  pointed  out  and  the 
movement  made,  and  the  voice  should  follow  the  de- 
scription. 

''9.  A  salesman  allowed  the  proper  moment  for  get- 
ting an  order  signed  to  go  by,  and  did  not  seem  to  know 
it,  although  the  prospect  showed  that  he  was  ready  to 


164  CLOSING  THE  SALE. 

purchase,  by  asking:  *  Which  register  do  you  recom- 
mend?' 'I  believe  that  one  would  suit  me.'  *  Which  is 
the  best  case?'  'What  are  your  terms?' 


CHAPTER  XII. 
GETTING  THE  ORDER  SIGNED. 

The  closing  of  a  sale  is  the  crucial  test  of  the  sales- 
man. Strong,  cheerful,  positive  young  men  who  are 
able  to  carry  prospective  customers  with  them  satisfac- 
torily through  all  the  other  steps  of  a  sale  often  fail  to 
close — and  there  is  no  sale. 

"The  ability  to  close  is  a  specialty  in  salesmanship," 
said  Mr.  J.  E.  Egan,  of  the  Burroughs  Adding  Ma- 
chine Co.,  in  an  article  on  "Salesmanship."  "There  are 
perhaps  nine  men  who  can  talk  the  merits  of  their  goods, 
answer  objections  and  interest  a  prospect,  but  who  lack 
the  knack  of  closing,  to  one  who  recognizes  an  oppor- 
tunity to  close  when  it  comes  to  him  and  who  is  able  to 
take  instant  advantage  of  it. 

"To  succeed  only  in  interesting  a  prospect  will  not 
make  any  money  for  the  salesman  or  the  firm  he  repre- 
sents. It  is  the  prospect's  business  which  the  salesman 
must  have.  He  must  know  how  to  turn  the  prospect's 
interest  and  convictions  to  good  account — he  must  know 
how  to  coin  them  into  orders — he  must  know  how  to 
close  the  sale. 

"There  are  a  great  many  salesmen  who  talk  pointedly 
and  well  as  long  as  a  prospect  will  listen.  Their  per- 
formance is  like  an  endless  game  of  tag;  they  are  for- 

165 


GETTING  THE  ORDER  SIGNED. 

ever  in  pursuit,  the  prospect  forever  in  flight,  but  when 
it  comes  to  rounding  him  up,  getting  him  into  a  corner 
and  putting  their  brand  on  him,  as  it  were,  they  lack 
any  special  plan  of  procedure.  They  grope  blindly  for 
some  point  that  will  win  him  over,  and  usually  stumble 
upon  one  which  opens  new  controversy  and  thus  again 
delays  the  closing  point. 

"If  it  is  not  this  which  is  at  fault  in  their  closing  tac- 
tics, it  may  be  that  they  are  premature  in  trying  to  close 
or  they  miss  the  closing  point  altogether  through  fail- 
ure to  recognize  the  opportunity  when  it  comes,  and  go 
rambling  on  in  their  selling  talk  until  what  interest  the 
prospect  has  had  in  their  arguments  is  dissipated,  and 
cannot  be  easily  regained. 

"These  men  need  a  special  training  in  the  art  of  clos- 
ing, and  need  to  learn  how  to  recognize  the  auspicious 
moment  for  putting  their  training  into  effect. 

Learning  When  to  Close. 

"The  salesman  has  to  develop  an  intuitive  faculty  to 
inform  him  when  the  moment  to  close  has  arrived.  He 
may  be  in  mid-career  in  an  effort  to  establish  some  specif- 
ic point  about  his  line,  when  a  subtle  change  appears  in 
his  prospect's  manner  which  should  warn  him  that  he 
has  gone  far  enough  in  this  direction,  that  the  man  is 
satisfied  in  a  general  way,  and  doesn't  need  further  par- 
ticulars, but  rather  a  summing  up  of  all  the  points  which 
have  previously  been  brought  to  his  attention. 

"At  this  stage,  if  the  salesman  persists  in  unnecessary 
details — if  he  goes  on  with  a  rambling  dissertation  to 
establish  more  fully  some  facts  which  the  prospect  is  al- 
ready willing  to  admit — he  has  missed  his  opportunity 


GETTING  THE  ORDER  SIGNED.  167 

to  close,  and  runs  the  risk  of  boring  this  prospect  ir- 
remediably. 

"If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  salesman  is  premature  in 
attempting  to  close — and  if  he  tries  to  sum  up  in  the 
prospect's  mind  all  the  facts  about  the  proposition  while 
there  is  still  one  unanswered  objection,  or  before  the 
prospect's  confidence  has  been  fully  gained,  he  will  have 
the  effect  of  merely  steering  off  into  generalities.  He  is 
like  the  lawyer  who  made  his  final  address  to  the  jury 
before  the  evidence  in  his  case  had  all  been  heard. 

"The  careful  salesman  will  not  try  to  close  prema- 
turely. He  will  remove  all  obstacles  before  launching 
into  the  final  summary.  But  he  will  be  quick  to  seize 
the  opportunity  when  it  does  come  and  at  that  moment 
there  will  be  as  distinct  a  change  in  his  tactics  as  in  those 
of  an  army  which  at  a  word  of  command  reverses  a 
flanking  movement  of  direct  attack  to  essay  the  envel- 
oping of  the  enemy.  It  is  necessary  to  take  the  tempera-, 
ture  of  your  prospect,  so  to  speak — to  keep  a  finger 
on  the  pulse  of  his  emotion — and  to  distinguish  the  sec- 
ond which  marks  the  ebb  tide  from  the  flow. 

The  Closing  Summary. 

"In  closing  a  sale  it  is  usually  necessary  to  summarize 
all  that  the  prospect  has  previously  been  given  to  under- 
stand about  the  merits  of  the  proposition.  Up  to  the 
point  of  the  close  the  salesman  has  perhaps  argued  the 
subjects  of  economy,  utility,  convenience,  profit  and 
pleasure  separately,  with  different  statements  and  illus- 
trations for  each  of  these  topics.  To  the  biased  mind  of 
the  prospect  the  goods  which  are  proved  to  be  adapted 
to  his  convenience  are  not  necessarily  the  most  economi- 
cal; or  those  which  may  be  shown  to  serve  his  economy 


168  GETTING  THE  ORDER  SIGNED. 

best  may  not  have  any  bearing,  in  his  mind,  on  the 
profit  or  pleasure  to  be  derived  from  them. 

"The  closing  argument,  therefore,  should  be  calcu- 
lated to  remove  this  biased  view  and  to  give  coherence 
to  all  the  points  which  have  been  scored,  so  that  they 
shall  hang  together  as  a  consistent  whole.  Each  conclu- 
sion which  has  been  admitted  by  the  prospect — each  point 
that  has  been  scored  in  the  salesman's  favor  up  to  the 
moment  of  closing — may  be  compared  to  a  strand  in 
a  cable  which  is  in  itself  incapable  of  sustaining  the 
weight  which  the  cable  is  intended  to  sustain,  but  which, 
united  with  the  other  strands,  plays  an  equal  part  with 
them  in  affording  the  required  degree  of  strength. 

"The  closing  argument  may  be  compared  to  a  river 
fed  by  numerous  streams  which  find  their  way  through 
separate  channels  to  a  common  bed.  Not  one  of  the 
streams,  perhaps,  would  be  capable  of  turning  a  ponder- 
ous mill-wheel,  but  when  their  forces  are  united  the  re- 
sult is  a  strong,river  current  of  sufficient  power  to  set  the 
machinery  in  motion. 

A  Systematic  Method  Needed. 

"At  times  it  is  possible  for  some  men  to  close  a  sale  by 
sheer  force  of  genial  personality,  but  they  cannot  rely 
in  every  instance  upon  such  an  aid,  for  some  prospects 
may  be  favorably  influenced  by  the  salesman's  person- 
ality, while  others  would  be  repelled  by  it.  It  is  neces- 
sary, therefore,  to  have  a  systematic  method  to  fall  back 
upon  for  emergencies,  and  the  formation  of  such  a 
method  requires  careful  study. 

"As  he  proceeds  in  his  selling  talk  the  salesman  should 
keep  tally  on  each  favorable  impression  made  upon  the 
prospect,  and  he  should  be  able  also  to  ascertain  whether 


GETTING  THE  ORDER  SIGNED.  169 

the  prospect  is  repressing  any  private  views  on  the  sub- 
ject under  discussion,  and  if  so,  whether  these  views  are 
favorable  or  otherwise.  Then,  before  reaching  the  clos- 
ing point,  he  has  catalogued  in  his  mind,  as  it  were,  all 
that  the  prospect  knows,  or  feels  about  the  propo- 
sition; all  his  prejudices,  doubts,  objections,  etc.  He 
does  not  try  to  close  until  the  obstacles  have  been  van- 
quished and  the  prospect  is  in  a  receptive  frame  of  mind. 
"In  the  majority  of  cases  the  prospect  has  some 
knowledge  of  the  salesman's  line  previous  to  the  sales- 
man's call  upon  him;  when  the  interview  begins  he  is 
prepared  to  admit  with  more  or  less  cordiality  that  it  has 
certain  merits.  No  argument  is  needed  therefore  on  the 
score  of  these.  It  is,  however,  important  to  include  some 
allusion  to  them  in  the  closing  remarks,  in  order  that  the 
preconceived  favorable  opinions  shall  reinforce  the  more 
recent  convictions  which  have  been  developed  by  the  sell- 
ing talk. 

Recall  Favorable  Admissions. 

4 'The  salesman  should  refer  in  his  closing  argument 
to  any  favorable  admissions  which  the  prospect  may  have 
been  constrained  to  make  in  the  course  of  the  interview, 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  suggest  that  these  admissions 
were  voluntarily  expressed  opinions. 

"For  instance,  Jones,  after  attempting  for  some  time 
to  convince  his  customer  that  the  goods  he  is  selling  are 
not  unreasonable  in  price,  is  meagerly  rewarded  at  last 
by  hearing  the  prospect  say:  'Oh,  well,  perhaps  you  are 
right.  I  am  not  prepared  to  dispute  that  your  prices 
are  reasonable.'  Jones  then  proceeds  to  reduce  the 
doubts  and  objections  in  his  prospect's  mind,  and  to  in- 
crease his  convictions  in  favor  of  the  deal.  Arrived  at 


170  GETTING  THE  ORDEE  SIGNED. 

the  closing  point,  he  refers  to  the  point  reluctantly  ad- 
mitted, somewhat  after  this  manner:  'You  have  already 
agreed  with  me,  Mr.  Blank,  that  it  is  impossible  to  dis- 
pute the  reasonableness  of  our  price/  This  has  a  bet- 
ter and  more  persuasive  ring  to  it  than  if  the  salesman 
were  to  say:  'I  have  already  disposed  of  your  objection 
to  our  price,  Mr.  Blank,  and  you  have  admitted  that 
you  were  not  prepared  to  dispute  its  reasonableness.* 

Acquiescence  May  Be  Assumed. 

"A  somewhat  similar  advantage  in  leading  up  to  the 
close  lies  in  the  manner  in  which  the  prospect's  acquies- 
cence to  certain  statements  in  the  selling  talk  can  be 
assumed  by  the  salesman,  though  it  may  not  have  been 
expressed  at  all  by  the  prospect. 

"By  the  way  of  illustration:  Jones,  who  is  engaged 
in  an  argument  with  his  prospective  customer,  Mr. 
Blank,  states  that  the  cloth  he  is  selling  will  wear  well. 
This  may  be  a  point  on  which  Mr.  Blank  would  enter 
into  a  controversy  if  he  were  given  the  opportunity,  it 
being  supposed  that  he  is  less  inclined  to  object  on  the 
score  of  price  and  other  points.  If  a  salesman  were  to 
say :  'Doesn't  it  stand  to  reason,  Mr.  Blank,  that  goods 
of  this  class  are  bound  to  wear?'  or,  'You  see  plainly,  do 
you  not,  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  durability  of 
goods  of  this  quality?'  he  would  be  tacitly  challenging 
the  prospect  to  disagree  with  him;  whereas  if  he  alludes 
to  this  point  by  saying:  'Our  goods  are  especially 
worth  the  money  in  view  of  this  consideration  and  that 
(making  the  arguments  under  a  topic  of  price),  and  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  they  are  so  substantially  woven 
that  they  will  wear  practically  forever*  he  has  conveyed 
to  his  prospect's  mind  the  same  impression  in  regard  to 


GETTING  THE  ORDER  SIGNED.  171 

the  durability  of  the  goods,  under  cover  of  some  other 
point,  concerning  which  there  is  less  liability  of  conten- 
tion. In  his  closing  argument  he  refers  to  the  point 
about  the  durability  of  the  goods,  mentioning  it  as  con- 
fidently as  if  the  fact  had  been  established  in  the  pros- 
pect's mind  by  a  most  exhaustive  reasoning  process  and 
had  received  his  full  affirmation. 

Shutting  Off  Controversy. 

"There  are  a  great  many  men  who  have  a  propensity 
for  disputing  every  point  that  a  salesman  tries  to  make 
with  them  for  no  other  reason  than  innate  stubbornness 
and  a  love  of  controversy.  The  salesman  has  to  avoid 
indulging  them  in  this  pastime.  That  is  not  saying  that 
he  shall  not  spend  whatever  time  is  necessary  and  take 
the  most  laborious  pains  to  satisfy  a  prospect  on  some 
point  concerning  which  there  may  exist  a  reasonable 
doubt.  It  is  important  not  to  sell  a  man  until  his  appre- 
hensions are  fully  removed;  otherwise  he  may  always 
remain  a  dissatisfied  customer.  But  it  is  equally  essen- 
tial to  prevent  a  prospect  from  advancing  objections 
which  are  not  genuine,  or  engaging  in  unnecessary  argu- 
ment. To  do  this,  the  method  described,  of  taking  his 
acquiescence  for  granted,  can  often  be  used  as  effectively 
as  the  polite  bow  and  gesture  which  usher  an  unwelcome 
visitor  from  the  room,  while  seeming  only  to  direct  him 
along  his  chosen  path. 

"These  points  are,  of  course,  preliminary  to  the  clos- 
ing. When  that  crisis  has  arrived  the  salesman  has  to 
focus  all  the  information  that  the  prospect  has  previously 
gained  in  just  the  manner  that  a  burning  glass  focuses 
the  sun's  rays  and  by  thus  concentrating  their  heat  ob- 
tains the  required  intensity. 


172  GETTING  THE  ORDER  SIGNED. 

Enumerate  the  Strong  Points. 

"In  closing  a  sale,  enumerate  all  the  strong  points  in 
regard  to  your  proposition  which  you  have  established  in 
your  prospect's  mind  or  which  he  previously  accepted  as 
true.  In  doing  so  avoid  the  danger  of  total  recall,  which 
is  the  habit  of  going  into  superfluous  and  discursive  re- 
marks. 

"Make  each  point  stand  out  clearly  and  luminously  in 
the  prospect's  mind,  and  manage  to  focus  all  the  favor- 
able impressions  he  has,  so  that  each  shall  seem  related  to 
the  rest,  and  the  whole  proposition  .shall  have  the  strength 
that  lies  in  unity  and  completeness.  Systematically  pre- 
pare his  mind  for  the  close,  and  at  that  point  your  sum- 
mary of  the  proposition,  if  it  is  well-rounded  and  force- 
ful, will  give  him  a  vivid  and  irresistible  conception  of 
the  advantages  of  the  deal,  and  in  the  majority  of  cases 
you  will  find  that  you  have  won  his  unhesitating  consent." 

The  Push  That  Lands  the  Order. 

It  may  take  anywhere  from  ten  minutes  to  ten  months 
to  lay  down  the  groundwork  of  logic  leading  up  to  a 
sale.  The  closing,  however,  is  something  that  usually 
happens  in  a  few  minutes,  perhaps  seconds,  and  calls  for 
ability  decidedly  different  from  that  needed  in  explain- 
ing. Some  men  have  this  ability  naturally,  others  ac- 
quire it,  and  many  others  seem  to  be  incapable  of  develop- 
ing it  at  all. 

If  the  mechanism  of  a  representative  sale  could  be  laid 
bare  for  study,  it  would  probably  approximate  the 
mechanism  of  the  universe  in  that  material  theory  by 
which  the  philosophers  explain  the  whole  thing  up  to  the 
point  where  a  slight  push  was  necessary  to  set  it  going 


GETTING  THE  ORDER  SIGNED.  173 

eternally.  The  sale  of  the  man  who  doesn't  close  is  tech- 
nically complete  except  for  the  push  that  lands  the  order. 
Sales  may  be  made  by  patient  exposition  of  facts, 
building  up  the  case  for  the  goods.  But  to  close  them, 
very  often,  a  real  push  or  kick  is  needed.  Logic  avails 
up  to  the  moment  when  the  customer  must  be  rushed. 

"Rushing"  the  Prospect. 

Tactics  probably  play  a  larger  part  in  closing  than 
in  approach,  for  the  latter  is  to  a  great  extent  a  matter 
of  health,  directness  and  cordiality,  whereas  closing 
means  that  a  customer  is  being  asked  to  spend  his  money, 
often  in  considerable  sums,  and  this  calls  for  more  logic. 

The  chief  shortcoming  of  the  salesman  who  has  diffi- 
culty in  closing  is,  usually,  that  he  doesn't  know  when 
the  psychological  moment  has  come  to  rush  his  man. 
This  is  a  very  definite  moment  in  every  deal.  Veteran 
salesmen  gauge  it  in  various  ways,  some  by  the  attention 
their  argument  is  receiving,  others  by  some  sign  in  the 
customer's  eyes,  and  others  still  by  a  sort  of  sixth  sense 
which  seldom  leads  them  wrong.  The  "explainer"  type 
of  salesman  may  actually  sell  goods  to  a  customer  and 
then,  by  staying  and  talking,  unsell  him  without  knowing 
it.  He  talks  his  man  into  saying  "Yes,"  and  then  talks 
him  into  stipulating  for  a  night  to  reconsider  the  matter 
before  he  asks  him  to  say  it. 

An  excellent  rule,  says  Mr.  James  H.  Collins  in  The 
Saturday  Evening  Post,  is  that  of  a  salesman  who  took 
hold  of  the  electrical  supply  concern  of  which  he  is  now 
president  at  a  period  when  its  sales  amounted  to  only 
a  few  thousand  dollars  yearly.  In  two  years  he  built 
up  its  business  to  a  quarter  million  in  competition  with 
wealthy  competitors,  doing  this  by  sheer  selling  ability. 


174  GETTING  THE  OEDER  SIGNED. 

"Take  the  first  train  out  of  town  after  you  sell  your 
man,"  was  his  rule.  If  there  was  no  train  for  several 
hours  he  excused  himself  the  moment  a  deal  was  closed, 
and  disappeared. 

"Just  as  sure  as  I  stayed  around  after  that  order  was 
in  my  pocket,"  he  says,  "part  of  it  would  be  canceled  or 
modified  by  the  buyer,  or  some  of  my  work  in  selling 
undone.  If  it  were  nothing  else  the  buyer  would  play  on 
the  fact  that  I  felt  good  about  getting  that  order,  and 
squeeze  something  extra  out  of  me.  When  you  land 
your  man  get  out  of  sight." 

Offering  an  "Opportunity." 

One  of  the  best  fundamental  appeals  in  closing  sales 
is  that  which  puts  the  proposition  up  to  a  customer  in 
the  form  of  an  opportunity  to  be  accepted  within  a  cer- 
tain time  or  be  lost  forever. 

There  are  various  other  ways  of  applying  this  final 
push  that  sets  the  whole  sale  going.  Very  often  the 
customer  is  brought  to  the  closing  point  by  pressure  that 
leads  him  to  choose  between  two  or  three  different  offers 
instead  of  being  urged  to  grasp  an  opportunity.  This 
is  an  especially  strong  lever  upon  the  suspicious  buyer. 

The  Use  of  Quiet  Strategy. 

In  many  other  cases  sales  are  often  closed  by  leading 
the  prospective  customer  along  quietly.  Instead  of  the 
swift  final  rush,  a  bit  of  gentle  strategy  does  the  business. 
Thus,  one  of  the  leading  newspapers  in  the  Middle 
West  has  a  school  for  the  canvassers  who  solicit  sub- 
scriptions. A  set  of  books  is  sold  in  connection  with  a 
year's  subscription  to  this  paper,  and  the  solicitors  are 
drilled  in  old-fashioned  bookselling  tactics,  learning  their 


GETTING  THE  ORDER  SIGNED.  175 

argument  by  rote.  At  the  precise  point  where  the  signa- 
ture of  the  prospect  is  to  be  secured  the  salesman  is 
taught  to  take  his  pencil  from  his  pocket,  drop  it  on  the 
floor  apparently  by  accident,  stoop  over  and  pick  it  up 
as  he  finishes  his  argument,  and  put  it  into  the  prospect's 
fingers  as  a  matter  of  course.  Six  times  in  ten  the 
signature  is  written  without  more  argument. 

A  supply  salesman  arrives  at  the  same  result  by  as- 
suming at  some  point  in  his  argument,  which  he  gauges 
by  the  prospective  customer's  attention,  that  an  order  has 
already  been  given.  Without  definitely  broaching  the 
subject  of  a  sale  he  talks  as  though  the  deal  had  been 
closed,  and  presently  asks  how  the  goods  are  to  be 
shipped. 

The  Climax  of  the  Sale. 

"The  whole  art  of  salesmanship,"  says  the  National 
Cash  Register  Co.'s  Manual,  "might  be  summed  up  in 
the  four  words,  'Getting  the  order  signed.'  Your  ap- 
proach may  be  perfect,  your  demonstration  clear  and 
well  made,  but  if  you  cannot  put  a  climax  upon  the 
presentation  of  your  case  by  bringing  up  unanswerable 
closing  arguments,  your  efforts  have  been  useless  and 
your  time  lost. 

"Here  is  where  the  thorough  investigation  of  the  sys- 
tem used  in  the  prospect's  store  comes  in  to  good  advan- 
tage. You  have  shown  him  what  a  perfect  system  our 
register  would  give  him.  You  can  then  present  to  him 
the  weak  points  in  his  present  system,  show  him  how  each 
one  of  these  can  be  overcome  by  the  register,  and  bring 
to  bear  the  strongest  possible  closing  argument  on  that 
point. 

"For  instance,  the  first  probable  leak  in  his  system  is 


176  GETTING  THE  ORDER  SIGNED. 

the  cash  sales.  After  contrasting  our  system  with  his, 
bring  to  bear  upon  him  the  best  closing  argument  you 
can  bring  to  your  mind  on  the  subject  of  the  open 
cash  drawer.  Follow  the  weak  points  in  his  system,  one 
by  one,  until  you  have  shown  that  you  can  overcome 
each  one  of  them,  and  have  given  him  an  argument  he 
can  never  forget  on  each  of  these  heads.  You  have,  in 
this  way,  summed  up  your  case,  as  it  were,  and  by  the 
time  you  have  finished  this  he  will  undoubtedly  be  ready 
to  sign  the  order. 

"When  demonstrating  the  register  look  the  prospect 
steadily  in  the  eye.  Notice  from  his  expression  whether 
you  have  made  a  telling  point.  Get  him  to  admit,  if 
possible,  that  each  step  in  the  demonstration  will  save 
him  a  certain  amount  of  money  daily.  Jot  this  amount 
down  on  a  piece  of  paper,  so  that  when  the  demonstration 
closes,  and  you  have  summed  up  your  case,  as  above  de- 
scribed, you  can  show  him  that  by  his  own  admission  the 
register  will  save  as  much  or  more  than  we  ask  for  it  in 
daily  payments. 

The  Crucial  Moment. 

"The  time  has  come  then  for  him  to  put  his  name  to 
the  order.  Have  the  order  prepared.  If  necessary  fill 
out  two  or  three  blanks  before  he  arrives,  if  you  are  in 
doubt  as  to  which  register  he  will  buy.  You  are  then 
prepared  to  present  an  order,  ready  for  signature,  with 
perhaps  the  addition  of  but  a  few  words. 

"The  critical  time,  when  a  prospect  is  ready  to  sign, 
is  an  unknown  quantity.  It  can  only  be  learned  from 
experience.  There  is  always  a  time  when  a  prospect 
will  sign.  The  successful  salesman  is  the  one  who  knows 
when  to  present  the  order  for  signature.  The  introduc- 


GETTING  THE  ORDER  SIGNED.  177 

tion  of  the  order  to  the  prospect's  sight  is,  perhaps,  a 
critical  moment.  As  an  excuse,  you  might  say,  'I  will 
show  you  the  form  we  send  to  the  factory  as  an  order 
for  the  register.  What  style  of  case  would  you  prefer? 
Have  you  one  of  your  cards,  or  what  are  the  initials 
of  your  name,  as  I  want  to  describe  here  the  kind  of 
name-plate  we  want  ordered?'  Any  introduction  of  this 
kind  will  bring  the  subject  to  a  head,  and  he  is  ready  then 
for  you  to  present  the  pen  to  him  and  ask  for  his  signa- 
ture. A  prospect  will  often  lay  the  pen  down  many 
times  before  he  is  ready  to  take  it  up  and  sign  the  order, 
but  the  experience  of  old  salesmen  has  been  that  when 
he  thus  signs,  he  gives  a  sigh  of  relief  and  is  glad  that 
it  is  over,  and  asks  how  soon  he  can  get  the  register. 

"This  art  of  securing  a  signature  is  one  that  can  be 
lenrned  from  experience." 


I.B.L.  Vol.  2-12 


"Stick  to  your  business  and  your  business  will  stick  to 
you. ' ' — Matthews. 


"The  successful  man  is  he  who  can  say  with  Paul: 
'This  one  thing  I  do.'  " — Emerson. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
SALES  ORGANIZATION. 

By  Charles  U.  Carpenter.* 

In  a  chapter  as  brief  as  this  must  be,  it  is,  of  course, 
out  of  the  question  to  discuss  at  all  fully  the  broad,  gen- 
eral question  of  methods  of  selling.  Again,  each  busi- 
ness has  its  own  peculiarities  which  make  it  necessary  to 
apply  special  methods.  At  the  same  time,  much  can  be 
said  on  that  question  of  tremendous  importance — the  up- 
building of  a  highly  trained,  efficient  selling  force — that 
will  be  applicable  to  a  business  of  any  character.  Dif- 
ferent methods  of  making  different  manufactured  goods 
make  necessary  some  change  in  the  plans,  but  in  almost 
every  case  the  fundamental  elements  are  the  same. 

Methods  of  selling  manufactured  goods  may  broadly 
be  divided  into  four  divisions: 

First,  where  the  goods  are  sold  direct  to  the  consumer 
by  selling  representatives  of  the  manufacturing  concern 
itself.  This  may  be  either  through  the  company  branch 
houses,  or  commission  or  salaried  men,  all  of  whom  are 
employed  and  paid  by  the  company.  In  this  case,  while 
considerable  working  capital  is  tied  up  and  the  stock 
of  goods  must  be  heavy,  at  the  same  time  the  selling  di- 
vision is  directly  under  the  control  of  the  management 

*  Mr.  Charles  U.  Carpenter  is  well-known  to  the  business  world  as 
the  president  of  the  Herring-Hall-Marvin  Safe  Company,  of  New  York 
and  Hamilton,  Ohio.  He  was  formerly  active  in  the  management  of  the 
National  Cash  Eegister  Company,  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  and  is  regarded  as 
a  leading  expert  on  business  organization.  This  chapter  is  reproduced 
by  permission  from  his  valuable  work  on  ' '  Profit-Making  Management ' ' 
(New  York:  The  Engineering  Magazine,  1908). 

179 


1 80  SALES  ORGANIZATION. 

and  the  territories  themselves  secure  a  company  repre- 
sentation possible  in  no  other  way. 

Second,  selling  to  exclusive  agencies,  who  themselves 
employ  salesmen  to  deal  direct  with  the  consumer.  This 
plan  has  much  merit,  although  it  is  often  difficult  to  de- 
vise plans  whereby  the  agencies  themselves  may  be 
forced  to  cover  their  territories  and  to  develop  an  effi- 
cient selling  department.  It  is  also  important  to  notice 
here  that  in  such  cases  the  manufacturing  company  very 
often  does  not  come  into  close  contact  with  the  individual 
members  of  the  selling  division  of  such  agencies,  and 
thus  their  methods  are  not  properly  impressed  upon  the 
men.  A  connecting  bond  between  such  agency  sales- 
men and  the  manufacturing  concern  is  of  great  impor- 
tance. This  becomes  especially  so  in  cases  of  sudden 
terminations  of  contract,  etc. 

Third,  selling  to  jobbers.  This  plan  is  susceptible  of 
such  variety  that  it  hardly  needs  consideration.  Close 
connection  between  the  jobber  and  the  manufacturing 
company  is  very  necessary.  Constant  and  skillful  at- 
tention must  be  paid  him  in  order  to  secure  adequate  and 
permanent  representation. 

Fourth,  direct  advertising,  selling  by  catalogues,  etc. 
A  discussion  of  this  method  of  marketing  a  product  need 
not  be  considered  here. 

Developing  a  Selling  Force. 

Whatever  the  business,  whatever  the  method  of  sell- 
ing, the  importance  of  a  highly-trained,  efficient  selling 
division  stands  out  paramount.  In  developing  a  selling 
force,  we  must  consider : 

1.  Training  of  salesmen. 

2.  Training  of  sales  managers. 


SALES  ORGANIZATION.  181 

3.  Developing  of  a  proper  system,  whereby  both 
salesman  and  sales  manager  can  be  properly  checked 
up — the  former,  to  ascertain  if  he  is  properly  covering 
his  territory,  and  getting  his  full  quota  of  business,  se- 
curing proper  prices  and  terms,  and  keeping  his  old  and 
new  customers  satisfied;  the  latter,  to  see  if  he  has  the 
proper  grade  of  salesmen  employed,  proper  control  over 
them,  proper  methods  of  training  them;  also  to  note  if 
he  is  securing  an  adequate  volume  of  business  at  such 
prices  and  with  such  economy  in  operating  expenses  as 
to  guarantee  a  sufficient  profit. 

Training  of  Salesmen. 

Singularly  enough,  the  majority  of  concerns  today 
spend  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  in  advertising  and  in 
forcing  the  attention  of  the  public  upon  their  goods — in 
"creating  the  demand" — and  yet  they  fail  to  train  their 
sales  employees — the  men  and  women  upon  whom  they 
must  absolutely  and  finally  depend  as  "closers" — so  that 
they  may  know  the  "talking  points"  of  their  goods,  the 
best  methods  of  presenting  their  arguments,  and  the 
surest  methods  of  finally  "clinching  the  order." 

The  unknowing  sales  manager  often  dismisses  the  ar- 
gument in  favor  of  training  of  the  salesmen  with  the 
trite  remark  "salesmen  are  born,  not  made."  A  mis- 
chievous belief!  Granted  that  some  men  are  by  nature 
better  fitted  for  selling  than  others,  those  men  are  only 
too  few.  Training  would  surely  improve  their  efficiency. 

Unfortunately,  however,  we  manufacturers  who  mar- 
ket our  own  goods  can  find  but  very  few  of  these  "born 
salesmen,"  and  are  obliged  to  rely  upon  the  "average 
salesman"  for  the  most  of  our  business  getting.  Such 
being  the  fact,  it  must  be  apparent  that  the  average  sell- 


182  SALES  ORGANIZATION. 

ing  division  needs  badly  a  scientific  and  systematic 
method  of  training,  in  order  that  the  large  proportion  of 
"average  salesmen"  may  be  brought  to  as  high  a  degree 
of  efficiency  as  possible. 

Nor  does  the  advantage  to  be  reaped  stop  simply  with 
the  training  of  the  employees  in  selling.  The  meetings 
which  this  system  calls  for,  if  managed  aright,  are  sure 
to  prove  of  immense  benefit  in  arousing  a  healthy  and 
stimulating  enthusiasm  in  the  employees  affected.  An 
honest  desire  and  intent  on  the  part  of  these  salesmen 
to  "put  in  the  best  licks  for  the  House"  gives  an  impulse 
to  their  activities  that  nothing  else  can  supply.  This 
feeling  can  be  instilled  into  them  by  a  skilful,  tactful 
sales  manager.  Do  not  forget  that  a  sullen,  listless,  or 
disloyal  member  of  your  selling  force  affects  your  profits 
immediately.  If  you  have  many  such,  your  department 
is  costly  and  inefficient.  The  effect  of  your  thousands 
spent  on  advertising  is  nullified  by  such  conditions. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  highly  trained,  loyal,  interested 
and  active  selling  force  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  assets 
a  firm  can  possess.  That  such  a  selling  organization  can 
be  developed,  even  from  one  of  a  peculiar  degree  of  in- 
efficiency, has  been  proven  by  a  long  personal  experience 
in  several  lines  of  business  and  very  close  observation  of 
the  results  obtained  in  other  modern  business  concerns. 

John  H.  Patterson,  the  brilliant  president  of  the  Xa- 
tional  Cash  Register  Company  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  was  the 
first  business  man  to  grasp  the  possibilities  that  lie  in 
the  training  of  the  salesman.  Through  his  genius,  his 
company  has  developed  probably  the  greatest  and  most 
efficient  selling  organization  in  the  business  world  today. 
His  example  has  been  followed  in  the  manufacturing 


SALES  ORGANIZATION.  188 

business  by  such  concerns  as  the  Burroughs  Adding  Ma- 
chine Company  and  the  Herring-Hall-Marvin  Safe 
Company,  with  decided  success.  Work  of  this  character 
has  been  successfully  applied  in  other  forms  of  busi- 
ness besides  manufacturing.  Indeed,  its  essential  prin- 
ciples can  be  adapted  to  the  conditions  of  a  business  of 
any  character  in  which  the  marketing  of  goods  plays 
a  large  part. 

A  Scientific  Selling  System. 

While  each  business  requires  special  study  and  special 
methods,  the  general  plans  of  the  "Science  of  a  Selling 
System"  can  be  clearly  pointed  out  so  that  they  may  be 
adapted. 

The  two  essential  features  of  this  system  are  "Sales- 
men's Demonstration  Meetings"  and  "Salesmen's  Train- 
ing Department."  While  the  "Salesmen's  Training  De- 
partment" is  in  fact  the  more  important  feature, 
I  place  the  "Salesmen's  Demonstration  Meetings"  first, 
because  the  training  department  is,  nine  times  out  of  ten, 
the  outgrowth  of  the  demonstration  meetings.  The  logi- 
cal beginning  of  this  system  is  with  these  meetings,  be- 
cause the  points  to  be  used  in  the  training  department  are 
invariably  secured  from  the  discussions  arising  in  these 
meetings.  Again,  these  meetings  serve  as  a  gradual  in- 
troduction for  the  later  training  department,  and  so  ac- 
custom the  selling  force  to  the  methods  themselves  that 
there  arises  but  little  opposition  to  the  training  depart- 
ment when  it  is  first  proposed.  Each  salesman,  too, 
feels  that  he  has  had  some  part  in  the  development  of 
the  training  department,  inasmuch  as  his  own  arguments 
are  often  used,  and  so  thorough  support  is  elicited  in 
place  of  the  violent  opposition  that  may  be  expected  if 


184  SALES  ORGANIZATION. 

any  arbitrary  methods  are  used.  Woe  betide  the  sales 
manager  and  the  sales  system  if  he  starts  at  the  "other 
end  of  the  line,"  and  attempts  to  force  these  methods 
upon  his  selling  department  before  the  members  are 
ready  for  it. 

Salesmen's  Weekly  Demonstration  Meetings. 

The  points  that  will  be  brought  out  in  regard  to  these 
meetings  need  no  elaboration,  as  their  merit  is  self-evi- 
dent. 

First,  a  time  for  these  meetings  must  be  set  and  con- 
stant attendance  insisted  upon.  The  sales  manager 
must  invariably  be  present  and  take  part  in  discussions  of 
all  matters  of  importance.  If  possible,  some  higher 
official  should  be  present  once  a  month,  in  order  to  inject 
a  new  interest  and  new  quality  of  enthusiasm  into  the 
salesmen.  It  will  stir  up  both  salesmen  and  sales  mana- 
ger tremendously  if  they  are  compelled  to  exhibit  be- 
fore someone  high  in  authority. 

Second,  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  these  meetings 
are  for  the  training  of  the  salesmen  (and  incidentally 
the  manager)  and  helping  them  over  their  difficulties, 
for  arousing  interest  and  enthusiasm,  for  giving  the 
salesmen  a  chance  to  "blow  off  steam"  on  any  trouble 
they  may  have  that  is  affecting  their  efficiency,  and  for 
securing  from  them  suggestions  for  the  improvement  of 
the  business.  A  sample  weekly  program  follows: 

Program  of  Salesmen's  Demonstration  Meetings. 

1.  Announcements.      By  Sales  Manager. 

2.  Description  of  new  products  and  fields  they  are 
designed  to  fill.     By   Sales  Manager.     (Suggestions 
and  criticisms  from  salesmen  requested.) 


SALES  ORGANIZATION.  41     185 

3.     Demonstration  of  salesmanship. 

By  Salesman — J.  H.  Smith 
By  Customer — G.  R.  Brown  (Salesman) 
Censors— R.  Fowler,  H.  White. 
(a)      Selling  the  product  to  the  customer  whose 
business  is  carefully  selected  and  who  desires  a 
good  article. 

or  (b)  Selling  customer  asking  for  low-priced 
article,  a  higher-priced  and  more  profitable 
product. 

or    (c)      Selling  second-hand  product  to  customer, 
or     (d)      Selling  customer  asking  for  second-hand 

product  a  new  product. 

or  (e)  Selling  customer  new  product,  taking  old 
product  in  exchange,  at  profitable  allowance 
figure. 

or  (f)  Selling  customer  against  strong  competi- 
tion, another  salesman  entering  the  demonstra- 
tion as  competitor's  salesman. 

Note: — These  demonstrations  may  be  varied  by  hav- 
ing the  same  points  illustrated  as  "Company-office 
Sales,"  where  all  stock  and  other  paraphernalia  are  pres- 
ent, or  as  sales  at  the  customer's  office,  where  the  salesman 
must  depend  upon  illustrations,  samples  and  catalogs. 

4t.  Discussions  of  demonstrations,  first,  by  the  ap- 
pointed censors,  Fowler  and  White,  and  second,  by  each 
salesman  personally. 

5.  Discussion   of  week's   business;   why   individual 
salesmen  have  not  made  their  quota  of  sales  and  difficul- 
ties met  by  salesmen,  from  blackboard  individual-sales 
record  and  from  individual-sales  reports. 

6.  A  talk  by  the  sales  manager  or  some  high-grade 
salesman  on  general  important  points  of  salesmanship, 
such  as :  Investigation  of  prospective  customer's  business 
and  his  methods. 

The  proper  "lining  up"  of  selling  arguments  so  that 
the  "selling  climax"  may  come  at  the  right  time. 


186  SALES  ORGANIZATION. 

Methods  of  introduction,  or  "the  approach." 

Methods  of  getting  the  prospective  customer's  atten- 
tion and  making  demonstrating  arguments. 

Methods  of  using  closing  arguments  and  "getting  the 
signature  to  the  order." 

Ways  to  meet  certain  arguments  and  objections  of 
prospective  customer. 

Ways  to  meet  competitors'  claims  and  arguments. 

Methods  of  cultivating  a  territory. 

Importance  of  "satisfied  user." 

Importance  of  "knowledge  of  the  business." 

Advantages  to  be  gained  by  paying  close  attention  to 
such  seemingly  small  points  as  tact,  dress,  industry,  per- 
severance, talking  too  fast  or  too  much,  answering  cus- 
tomer's questions  quickly,  and  a  multitude  of  similar  mat- 
ters, perfection  in  which  is  so  important. 

7.  Discussion  of  different  competitors'  products,  their 
talking  points  and  how  to  controvert  them,  defects  and 
how  to  prove  them. 

8.  Suggestions  and  complaints. 

9.  General  subjects  such  as  advertising,  etc. 

Creating  the  Salesman's  Interest. 

Keeping  in  mind  the  main  objects  of  this  sales  system 
— the  creation  of  interest  and  enthusiasm  and  the  train- 
ing of  salesmen — an  examination  of  the  preceding  sug- 
gested program  leaves  an  explanation  almost  super- 
fluous. 

In  making  announcements  and  describing  new  prod- 
ucts, much  can  be  done  to  create  a  lively  interest  in  the 
company's  affairs  on  the  part  of  the  salesman.  A  frank 
and  full  discussion  of  new  products  or  proposed  new  de- 
signs will  often  prevent  serious  mistakes  and  will  al- 
most invariably  result  in  suggestions  that  will  make  the 
product  more  marketable. 


SALES  ORGANIZATION.  187 

The  suggested  variations  of  "Demonstrations  of 
Salesmanship"  are  self-explanatory.  Note  carefully  the 
appointment  of  censors.  It  is  also  especially  desirable  to 
hear  comments  upon  demonstrations  from  each  salesman. 
If  the  sales  manager  handles  matters  aright  so  that  the 
salesmen  enter  into  this  program  in  a  proper  spirit, 
there  need  be  no  fear  of  salesmen  becoming  angry  over 
fair  criticisms.  The  "customer"  can  be  selected  from  the 
sales  office.  He  must  be  given  to  understand  that  he  is 
not  to  aid  the  salesman  in  any  manner,  direct  or  indirect, 
and  that  he  should  bring  up  all  the  arguments  and  objec- 
tions against  buying  that  he  himself  has  learned  from  his 
own  customers. 

In  a  business  where  the  product  covers  a  broad  field, 
embracing  a  number  of  widely  different  kinds  of  busi- 
ness, where  a  discussion  of  the  business  system  enters 
into  the  sales,  the  "customer"  and  the  character  of  the 
business  can  be  selected  so  that  in  the  course  of  a  short 
time  the  demonstrations  will  cover  the  entire  field  and  a 
full  line  of  argument  be  brought  out  for  each  line  of 
business.  The  character  of  the  business  and  the  con- 
ditions surrounding  it  should  be  thoroughly  understood 
before  beginning.  Often  a  salesman  who  has  had  a  par- 
ticularly hard  nut  to  crack  will  suggest  the  conditions 
and  himself  act  the  part  of  customer  against  a  good  sales- 
man, in  the  hope  of  either  "stumping  him"  or  getting 
some  good  pointers. 

Especial  attention  may  well  be  given  to  methods  of 
convincing  a  customer  that  he  should  purchase  a  higher 
priced  and  more  profitable  product.  Inasmuch  as  the 
selling  expense  remains  the  same,  or  very  nearly  so,  an 
effective  method  of  accomplishing  this  will  result  in  a 


188  SALES  ORGANIZATION. 

much  larger  proportion  of  profit.  The  most  modern 
concerns  pay  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  this  point  and 
have  developed  a  highly  scientific  and  effective  method 
for  accomplishing  it.  This  applies  also  to  a  business 
in  which  exchanges  for  old  products  enters  into  a  large 
proportion  of  the  sales.  This  is  often  a  puzzling  fea- 
ture, and  unless  thoroughly  understood  results  in  large 
hidden  losses. 

Handling  Competition. 

Great  interest  can  be  aroused  by  the  introduction  of  a 
salesman  representing  a  strong  competitor,  who  is  sup- 
posed to  do  his  best.  Such  exhibitions  are  not  only 
highly  instructive,  but  also  inspire  salesmen  with  a  con- 
fidence in  their  own  goods. 

It  is  important  that  two  demonstrations  be  often  given, 
one  conducted  by  an  old  and  skilful  salesman  and  one  by 
a  newer  member  of  the  selling  force.  This  not  only 
aids  greatly  in  the  education  of  the  newer  salesman,  but 
often  acts  as  a  great  spur  on  the  older  man  not  to  be 
outdone  by  the  newer  ones.  In  conducting  these  demon- 
strations care  must  be  used  to  see  that  no  slipshod  meth- 
ods be  allowed  to  creep  in.  The  "sales"  must  be  con- 
ducted with  all  the  dignity  and  formality  of  a  real  tran- 
saction from  the  beginning,  in  order  that  the  best  form 
of  "approach"  or  introduction  of  the  subject  may  be 
observed. 

A  better  method  of  instilling  selling  confidence  into 
a  man  is  hard  to  devise.  After  he  has  had  to  appear 
several  times  before  a  body  of  selling  companions  and  his 
superior  officers  he  gains  confidence  rapidly  and  his  at- 
tacks of  "nerves"  are  things  of  the  past.  Such  methods 
quickly  develop  the  "quitter"  for  his  improvement  or 


SALES  ORGANIZATION,  189 

elimination  from  the  organization.     They  certainly  show 
up  the  "dead  wood"  quickly. 

The  talks  by  sales  manager  or  high-grade  salesman 
upon  general  selling  points,  as  noted  under  program 
item  6,  will  prove  of  great  benefit  to  new  salesmen.  The 
points  brought  forth — taken  by  a  stenographer — are  of 
great  value  later  when  organizing  a  method  of  training. 
The  items  given  embrace  only  a  very  few  of  the  import- 
ant topics  that  may  be  discussed,  but  are  given  to  illus- 
trate clearly  the  nature  of  the  talk  suggested. 

Discussion  of  Competing  Product. — While  it  is  not 
often  advisable  to  instruct  salesmen  to  talk  against  com- 
petitor's goods,  I  regard  it  as  absolutely  necessary  that 
salesmen  be  thoroughly  posted  on  the  character  of  com- 
petitors' products.  Very  often  true  statements  of  de- 
fects in  such  articles  become  necessary. 

Suggestions  and  Complaints. — This  section  deserves 
more  consideration  than  can  be  given  it  at  this  point. 
Nothing  is  more  vital  to  the  progress  of  a  company  than 
the  proper  and  conservative  meeting  of  the  actual  mar- 
ket demands  and  the  improvement  of  product  so  as,  if 
possible,  to  keep  ahead  of  the  demand.  No  one  knows 
the  needs  of  the  market  or  the  advancement  of  competi- 
tion as  does  the  salesman.  A  systematic  plan  to  secure 
these  suggestions  from  the  body  of  salesmen  will  prove 
of  very  great  value.  The  same  may  be  said  regarding 
complaints.  Legitimate  complaints  should  be  "aired," 
and  when  the  causes  are  ascertained  prompt  steps  taken 
to  rectify  the  troubles.  Many  a  firm  today  prefers  to 
shut  its  "business  ears  and  eyes"  and  refuses  to  hear  of 
troubles  or  to  see  perfectly  obvious  defects  which  are 


190  SALES  ORGANIZATION. 

continually  having  a  distinct  though  hidden  effect  upon 
the  business  and  organization. 

The  details  of  these  meetings  should  be  invariably 
taken  down  in  shorthand.  I  have  found  it  of  great  value 
to  have  sufficient  copies  of  the  proceedings  of  each  meet- 
ing made  to  allow  of  their  being  distributed  to  the  sales 
managers  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

It  is  important  that  the  general  sales  manager  con- 
sider it  his  particular  duty  to  read  carefully  all  minutes 
of  these  meetings  and  then  to  write  to  each  local  sales 
manager,  commenting  upon  them,  (in  each  case  men- 
tioning names  of  salesmen) .  The  effect  upon  both  man- 
ager and  men  is  very  beneficial. 

The  quality  of  the  demonstration  affords  a  very  good 
proof  of  the  caliber  of  the  salesmen  in  each  district  and 
thus  provides  the  clearest  kind  of  an  index  to  the  quality 
of  salesmen  throughout  all  the  points  of  the  organization. 
Again,  the  salesmen  are  impelled  to  do  their  level  best, 
knowing  that  the  general  sales  manager  will  himself  note 
the  character  of  their  work,  even  though  he  may  be  thou- 
sands of  miles  away.  By  such  a  simple  means  the  influ- 
ence and  power  of  the  general  sales  manager  will  be  felt 
throughout  the  entire  selling  organization. 

Salesmen's  Training  Department. 

While  much  good  can  be  derived  from  such  weekly 
meetings,  the  progress  of  the  men  toward  high-grade 
selling  is  necessarily  slow.  The  influence  toward  rational 
methods  is  not  constant  enough.  Again,  constant  in- 
dividual attention  should  be  given  the  new  men  at  the 
beginning  so  that  they  may  have  the  full  benefit  of  such 
methods  early  in  their  selling  career. 

Experience  has  shown  that  the  only  rational  plan  for 


SALES  ORGANIZATION.  191 

developing  salesmen  rapidly  and  upbuilding  a  strong  ho- 
mogeneous selling  department  is  to  develop  a  strong 
training  department  for  salesmen.  This  department 
should  be  independent  of  the  influence  of  any  local  sales 
manager,  but  should  be  under  the  direct  supervision  of 
the  general  sales  manager.  It  should  be  his  "selling 
right  hand."  All  local  managers  should  be  thoroughly 
trained  in  this  department's  methods  so  as  to  supplement 
its  activity  in  their  own  local  districts.  All  salesmen 
should  be  trained  therein. 

Particular  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  export  trade 
agencies.  Some  firms  establish  training  departments  in 
the  several  foreign  countries.  Personally,  I  prefer  to 
have  even  representatives  of  export  agencies  taught  at 
the  home  office,  so  that  they  can  not  only  get  the  best  pos- 
sible course  of  instruction  but  also  may  come  under  the 
direct  strong  influence  of  the  home-office  executives. 

Importance  of  the  Instructor. 

The  first  step  (and  often  the  most  difficult)  is  to  find 
the  proper  instructor.  No  greater  mistake  can  be  made 
than  to  attempt  to  use  a  cheap  man.  This  work  requires 
a  man  with  the  widest  selling  experience,  coupled  with 
great  tact,  patience,  and  teaching  ability;  a  man  whom 
the  salesmen  will  respect  for  his  ability.  The  outline  of 
his  work  will  demonstrate  the  necessity  for  having  a 
man  of  sterling  ability. 

His  first  work  will  be  to  prepare  a  "Manual"  for  sales- 
men. This  must  contain : 

a.  Strong  points  on  general  salesmanship. 

b.  A  thorough  and  careful  explanation  of  each  prod- 

uct and  its  adaptation  to  all  different  lines  of 
business. 


192  SALES  ORGANIZATION". 

c.  An  exceedingly  thorough  explanation  of  the  "talk- 

ing points"  or  "selling  arguments"  of  each 
product. 

d.  An  analysis  of  competitors'  products  and  a  com- 

parison with  the  manufacturing  company's 
product. 

e.  A  careful  and  scientific  analysis  of  the  best  meth- 

ods of  introduction  to  a  prospective  customer 
so  as  to  gain  his  attention  and  interest,  this 
forming  the  "approach." 

f .  Statements  of  the  best  methods  of  marshalling  the 

talking  points  together  so  that  a  demonstration 
of  the  product's  merits  may  be  made  to  the  cus- 
tomer— this  forming  the  "demonstration  and 
argument." 

g.  A  thorough  and  complete  analysis  of  the  best 

"closing  arguments"  and  discussion  of  various 
ways  to  "get  the  order  signed." 

h.  A  full  list  of  the  most  common  objections  to  mak- 
ing a  purchase  and  ways  of  meeting  these  ob- 
jections. After  this  plan  is  worked  out,  it  will 
astonish  many  to  note  how  simply  the  objec- 
tions to  purchasing  on  the  part  of  prospective 
customers  can  be  classified.  It  will  also  as- 
tonish the  average  sales  manager  to  note  how 
many  different  and  excellent  answers  can  be 
made  to  these  objections  by  taking  the  answers 
to  these  by  many  managers  and  salesmen  in 
different  parts  o£  the  country.  Whenever  a 
salesman  meets  with  some  new  form  of  rebuff, 
arguments  to  meet  a  new  condition  can  quickly 
be  secured  by  referring  the  question  to  the  dif- 


SALES  ORGANIZATION.  193 

f erent  managers  for  settlement  in  their  weekly 
demonstration  meetings. 

i.  Much  space  may  well  be  given  to  a  thorough  and 
logical  explanation  of  best  methods  of  raising  a 
customer  desiring  a  low-priced  product  to  one 
of  the  higher  price,  "Raising  him  up  the  line," 
as  it  is  called.  Really  scientific  work  can  be 
done  along  this  line.  Methods  of  handling 
second-hand  sales  and  exchange  sales  should 
also  be  treated  fully. 
It  will  be  noted  that  almost  all  of  these  invaluable 

data  can  be  secured  from  the  salesmen's  demonstration 

meeting  reports. 

Work  of  the  Training  School. 

After  the  selection  of  the  instructor  and  preparation 
of  the  manual  the  balance  of  the  work  is  largely  routine. 

First,  each  man — new  or  old — must  be  made  to  learn 
the  manual  "backward  and  forward."  No  halfway 
learning  can  be  tolerated.  He  should  then  be  thor- 
oughly drilled  in  the  "approach,"  "demonstration"  and 
"closing"  arguments  under  differing  conditions  along 
the  lines  noted  in  the  Program  of  Salesmen's  Demonstra- 
tion Meetings.  He  should  be  compelled  to  go  through 
these  in  the  regular  demonstration  meetings  before  the 
entire  body  of  salesmen. 

This  process  will  require  from  two  to  six  weeks,  de- 
pending upon  the  man  and  the  character  of  the  business. 
He  is  then  started  out  in  a  territory  and  carefully 
watched.  It  is  well  also  at  times  to  have  him  attempt  to 
make  a  sale  at  the  office  so  that  his  methods  may  be  noted. 

After  about  a  week  of  this  experience  the  instructor 

should  accompany  him  on  his  regular  rounds  so  as  to  note 

I.B.L.  Vol.  2—i3 


194  SALES  ORGANIZATION. 

his  methods.  Failure  to  attend  to  important  points  may 
thus  be  observed.  The  instructor  should  then  illustrate 
the  proper  methods  by  taking  the  selling  end  himself 
with  several  prospective  customers  and  closing  the  sales. 
After  the  salesman  has  been  in  his  territory  for  a  full 
month  the  instructor  should  spend  another  period  with 
him. 

After  these  men  are  distributed  to  different  territories 
the  local  manager  should  give  them  the  same  attention. 

Keeping  Track  of  Salesmen. 

The  instructor  should  visit  the  several  territories  from 
time  to  time  and  note  closely  the  salesmen's  method  of 
demonstration,  both  in  the  weekly  salesmen's  meeting 
and  before  their  customers.  A  constant  and  close  study 
of  weekly  sales  reports,  supplemented  by  the  reports  of 
the  weekly  demonstration  meeting,  will  clearly  indicate 
the  weak  spots  needing  attention. 

The  local  managers  should  from  time  to  time  be  called 
into  the  home  office  for  conventions.  These  can  be  made 
exceedingly  helpful  to  both  company  and  managers. 
They  are  the  backbone  of  the  selling  division  and  they 
cannot  be  watched,  trained,  inspired,  and  worked  with 
too  much.  Not  only  must  they  be  driven  on  the  question 
of  sales,  but  they  must  also  be  held  responsible  for  econ- 
omy in  management. 

The  devising  of  proper  sales  systems  is  a  subject  in 
itself  that  cannot  be  fully  treated  here. 

It  is  essential,  though,  that  mention  be  made  of  the 
two  forms  from  which  spring  many  branches  of  the  sys- 
tem, namely  the  Salesman's  Daily  Reports.  One  covers 
sales  made  and  gives  the  important  details  as  to  the  cus- 


SALES  ORGANIZATION.  195 

tomer  and  his  business ;  the  other  covers  cases  of  failure 
and  gives  the  reasons  for  non-success.  The  two  forms 
are  shown  below: — 

Salesman's  Daily  Report  of  Sales. 

Name  of  Customer Rating Date 

Character  of  business  and  system  used 

What  Sold Date  Delivery 

Higher  Priced  Machine  needed Date 

Duplicate  Machine  needed Date 

Send  advertising  matter  as  follows : 


Salesman's  Daily  Report  of  Failure. 

Name  of  Customer Rating ....  Date 

Character  of  business  and  system  used 

What  needed? Why  not  sold? 

Date  to  return 

Send  advertising  matter  as  follows : 

The  Prospective  Customer's  Record. 

Couple  these  two  reports  with  a  comprehensive  list  of 
prospective  customers,  and  you  have  the  best  foundation 
for  a  comprehensive  and  valuable  sales  system.  Many 
other  forms  will  naturally  be  added  to  these  and  many 
different  methods  used  for  properly  tracing  up  "pros- 
pective customers"  noted  from  these  reports. 

Through  your  prospective  customer  list,  coupled  with 
the  salesman's  daily  reports,  you  can  determine  whether 
or  not  each  man  is  properly  covering  his  territory.  If  he 
is  not,  you  can  make  him  do  so. 

The  daily  reports  data  enable  you  to  classify  these 
prospective  customers  so  that  you  may  be  sure  that  they 
receive  the  proper  attention  at  the  proper  time  and  the 


196  SALES  ORGANIZATION. 

proper  kind  of  advertising  matter  pending  the  next  visit 
of  the  salesman.  These  reports  are  capable  of  indefinite 
amplification  along  lines  which  will  be  of  immense  bene- 
fit to  the  business,  especially  when  used  in  connection 
with  a  sales  system  along  the  lines  described. 

Such  systems  will  admirably  supplement  up-to-date 
factory  methods  and  will  serve  to  unify  the  entire  plan 
of  organization,  business,  and  method  along  such  logi- 
cal lines  that  there  can  be  but  one  result — Progress! 

A  selling  department  built  up  along  such  lines  is  the 
best  guarantee  of  high  prices  and  good  profits — a  bul- 
wark of  strength  against  competition,  and  the  strongest 
possible  business  foundation,  especially  in  times  of  in- 
dustrial depression.  *  *  * 

Executive  Reports  from  Selling  Division. 

As  a  fundamental  form  of  report  invariably  necessary 
I  submit  one  which  shows  how  much  business  must  be 
done  in  each  line  of  product  and  in  each  territory.  This 
must  show  the  volume  of  sales  required  in  detail.  As 
against  this  there  must  be  set  the  allowable  factory  costs, 
together  with  allowable  costs  of  extras  of  all  character. 
In  addition  to  this,  there  must  be  carefully  calculated 
out  the  allowable  selling  expense,  including  all  items, 
such  as  salesmen's  and  managers'  salaries,  commis- 
sions, traveling  expenses,  advertising,  etc.  There  must 
further  be  shown  the  allowable  general  expense,  such 
as  rent,  insurance,  taxes,  telephone,  telegraph,  office  sal- 
aries, etc.  In  all  cases  allowable  percentages  should  be 
carefully  worked  out. 

The  "allowable  amounts"  must  be  calculated  from 
close  knowledge,  first,  of  how  much  profit  the  concern 
should  make;  second,  of  how  much  profit  should  come 


SALES  ORGANIZATION. 


197 


from  each  territory  considering  the  possibilities  of  the 
business  and  expense  of  conducting  it.  When  these 
computations  are  made  for  each  territory,  covering  sell- 
ing prices,  factory  costs,  selling  and  general  expenses, 
together  with  percentage  calculations,  showing  the 
proper  relationship  of  all  of  these  items,  you  have  a  solid 


% 

N.  Y.  Branch, 

% 

Phila.  Branch. 

Etc. 

Required  Bales. 
Amounts  (Classified). 

Factory  Costs. 
Amounts  (Classified)  
All    other    Cost    Items 
Classified  

Selling  Expenses 
(Classified), 
(a)  Salesmen,  salaries  
(b)          "        commissions 
(c)          *        expenses  .  .  . 
(d)  Mngrs.,  salaries  
(e)         "      expenses  
(0  Advertising 

Total  Selling  Expense 

General  Expenses 
(Classified) 
(a)  Rent,    Insurance, 
Taxes  
(b)  Office  Salaries  
(c)  Telegraph    and    tele- 
phone             

(d)  Miscellaneous 

(e)  Legal  etc 

Total  General  Expense 

Total  All  Expense  

Net  Profit  Required.  .  . 

STANDARD  SELLING  RECORD. 

This  Record  is  used,  first,  for  showing  required  sales  and  allowable  expenses  with 

percentages;  second,  for  showing  actual  sales  made  and  actual  expenses  incurred 

and  percentages.    The  use  of  the  same  form  facilitates  comparisons. 

foundation  upon  which  to  work  and  from  which  to  drive 
for  business.  Of  course  this  should  be  carried  much 
further  within  the  selling  division.  Each  salesman 
should  have  his  record  to  strive  for.  His  showing 
should  be  based  upon  the  same  idea. 


198  BALES  ORGANIZATION. 

Having  these  data,  the  next  step  naturally  is  to  sup- 
ply the  exact  information  as  to  sales  record  and  ex- 
penses. The  sales  record,  as  far  as  the  selling  division 
is  concerned,  should,  of  course,  be  made  up  daily,  the  ex- 
pense items  being  roughly  calculated  upon  a  percentage 
basis.  The  monthly  sales  record  should,  however,  be 
complete.  It  should  follow  exactly  the  lines  of  the 
standard  selling  record  shown  on  p.  197,  the  sales  data 
being  taken  from  the  sales  records,  the  expense  data 
directly  from  the  accounting  department.  This  leaves 
in  the  mind  of  each  manager  of  a  selling  division  no  iota 
of  doubt  as  to  what  must  be  done,  and  by  comparison 
he  sees  how  much  he  has  gained  or  how  far  he  has  fallen 
behind.  Such  reports  provide  the  executives  with  ac- 
curate and  usually  much  needed  indices  of  sales  condi- 
tions. They  are  especially  valuable  where  the  business 
done  is  in  the  nature  of  long-time  contracts  under  which 
deliveries  are  made  for  long  periods  after  the  actual 
sales  are  recorded. 

Other  selling-division  reports,  such  as  those  showing 
the  distribution  of  sales,  the  covering  of  territories,  the 
development  of  the  selling  efficiency  of  the  organization, 
etc.,  and  the  condition  of  competition,  would  naturally 
be  made  and  need  no  discussion  here. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
A  MANUFACTURER'S  CAMPAIGN. 

The  experience  of  a  manufacturer  who  has  won  suc- 
cess through  adherence  to  sound  business  principles  is 
a  valuable  study  for  the  salesman  who  aspires  to  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  his  business. 

A  manufacturer's  campaign  must  be  carefully 
planned  in  advance.  Successful  distribution  from  the 
factory  is  a  problem  that  requires,  first  of  all,  a  thorough 
investigation  of  the  conditions,  local  and  otherwise,  un- 
der which  the  campaign  is  to  be  conducted.  Before  be- 
ginning the  manufacture  of  the  product,  no  matter  what 
it  may  be,  there  must  be  a  complete  knowledge  of  the 
market  and  of  all  the  considerations  that  will  cover  the 
case.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  is  the  manufacturer  ready 
to  proceed  with  the  second  important  step,  namely,  the 
organization  of  his  distributive  forces. 

A  typical  experience  is  that  of  Mr.  John  V.  Steger, 
founder  and  president  of  Steger  &  Sons  Piano  Manu- 
facturing Company,  Chicago,  and  founder  of  the  in- 
dustrial town  of  Steger,  Illinois,  which  has  been  literally 
built  around  the  manufacturing  plant  of  the  company. 
In  an  article  published  by  The  System  Company,  Mr. 
Steger  has  described  how  his  selling  campaign  won,  as 
follows : 

199 


200  A  MANUFACTURER'S  CAMPAIGN. 

Locating  a  New  Industry. 

"The  whole  end  and  aim  of  a  manufacturer's  battle  is 
summed  up  in  the  one  word  'selling.'  Looking  toward 
this  goal,  and  grounding  my  policy  on  these  sound  eco- 
nomic principles,  I  came  West,  and  early  in  1878  began 
the  manufacture  of  pianos.  Without  the  positive  as- 
surance that  the  smallest  quantity  of  my  product  could 
be  turned  into  cash,  I  convinced  myself  of  the  possibili- 
ties of  the  market  by  a  course  of  reasoning  something  like 
this: 

"Four  considerations  determine  the  location  of  a  new 
industry — proximity  to  supply  of  raw  material,  advan- 
tage in  meeting  competition,  nearness  to  market  and 
shipping  facilities,  and  supply  of  labor. 

"My  competitors  and  buyers  are  located,  for  the  most 
part,  in  the  East.  The  former  pay  freight  on  the  lum- 
ber sent  from  here  to  their  factories.  I  will  plant  my 
work-shop  almost  in  the  midst  of  the  raw  material,  and 
then  ship  my  product  back  to  worry  the  New  York  and 
Boston  makers.  They  pay  freight  on  the  solid,  bulky 
log.  I  take  this  timber,  chip  it  up,  throw  out  the  shav- 
ings and  sawdust,  and  pay  freight  on  the  hollow  and 
comparatively  light  piano.  This  gives  me — the  manu- 
facturer— the  greatest  possible  advantage,  a  reduced  cost 
of  production.  Through  this,  my  salesmen  acquire  the 
best  selling  argument  known — reasonableness  in  price. 
"Second,  as  the  West  grows  and  the  taste  of  the  peo- 
ple extends  beyond  the  bare  wants  of  the  pioneer,  I  can 
build  up  a  new  trade  in  a  field  as  yet  unexploited.  Here 
again  I  will  have  the  advantage  in  freight  rates,  as  I 
save  tariffs,  as  compared  with  the  Eastern  manufacturer, 
on  both  trips,  on  lumber  and  the  piano.  This  gives  the 


A  MANUFACTURER'S  CAMPAIGN.  201 

opportunity  for  a  still  further  reduction  in  price.  As  to 
the  other  factors,  labor  supply  and  shipping  advantages, 
they  are  as  conspicuous  here  as  in  the  East. 

"When  the  factory  site  is  once  located  in  the  proper 
environment  from  an  industrial  standpoint,  the  deter- 
mination of  the  special  character  of  the  product  must  be 
made.  I  began  with  the  idea  of  making  pianos.  What 
grade  could  be  made  to  sell  to  best  advantage  in  a  new 
field  and  by  an  unknown  and  untried  manufacturer? 

"This  was  the  next  problem  that  offered  itself  to  me 
as  a  man  looking  for  profits  in  pianos  the  same  as  it 
would  to  one  making  stoves,  ranges,  or  many  other  lines 
of  goods. 

Determining  Grade  of  the  Product. 

"There  are  two  theories  on  which  the  determination 
of  the  character  of  a  product  hangs.  You  may  reim- 
burse yourself  for  small  output  and  limited  sales  by  the 
high  price — which  means  that  you  cater  to  the  class 
which  wants  all  there  is  in  elegance  of  construction  and 
finish,  as  well  as  real  quality  of  the  article.  On  the  other 
hand,  you  may  follow  the  idea  of  a  large  output  through 
moderate  prices,  which  means  small  profits  and  large 
sales.  We  adopted  the  latter  of  these  policies  because 
of  our  location  in  the  Middle  West,  where  utility  is  often 
sacrificed  to  ultra-fashionableness.  I  decided  to  make 
a  product  that  would  appeal  to  the  people  in  the  homes 
of  the  great  middle  class.  I  cut  some  of  the  frills  and 
gave  the  consumer  a  staple  article  to  begin  with.  Long 
ago  we  branched  out  in  different  lines,  of  course,  until 
now  we  manufacture  every  grade  of  piano.  But,  if  quick 
returns  are  desired  on  a  small  outlay  of  money,  the 


202  A  MANUFACTURER'S  CAMPAIGN. 

staple  article,  sold  in  large  quantities  at  a  moderate  price, 
is  what  goes. 

Individuality  of  Product. 

"The  next  step,  keeping  in  sight  all  the  time  the  idea  of 
selling,  is  to  give  an  individuality  to  your  product  which 
will  mark  it  from  competitors.  This  distinctiveness 
should  be  hammered  into  the  public,  first,  through  ad- 
vertising, and,  second,  through  salesmen.  It  should  be 
properly  protected  by  patents.  It  should  be  typified  in 
a  name  which  the  public  will  come  to  know.  It  is,  in 
fact,  the  prime  requisite  of  a  product  seeking  a  place  in 
the  markets  of  the  world.  As  a  man  without  some  orig- 
inality is  a  nobody,  so  a  manufactured  article  without 
distinctiveness  has  no  standing  in  the  eyes  of  the  buyer. 

"This  line  of  reasoning  does  not  apply  exclusively  to 
pianos.  The  young  manufacturer  with  a  small  amount 
of  capital,  who  contemplates  entering  the  lists  as  a  maker 
of  sewing  machines,  typewriters,  office  desks,  automo- 
biles, and  many  other  products,  has  the  same  considera- 
tions to  keep  in  mind.  Mention  any  one  of  these  articles 
I  have  named  and  some  particular  make  or  makes  stand 
out.  Their  names,  special  improvements,  patented  de- 
vices or  attachments,  and  some  selling  point  based  on 
price  have  been  indelibly  impressed  upon  us  by  repeti- 
tion. 

"Many  pianos  look  alike  on  the  outside,  but  open  them 
up  and  there  is  seen  to  be  a  vast  difference  in  the  make. 
Here,  in  the  heart  of  the  piano,  is  where  I  spent  money 
in  perfecting  patents,  in  fighting  infringements,  and  in 
securing  a  general  make-up  all  our  own.  The  time  to 
originate  these  qualities,  which  go  so  far  to  make  the 
product  a  seller,  is  before  placing  it  on  the  market.  If 


A  MANUFACTURER'S  CAMPAIGN.  208 

t 

sales  are  rushed  prematurely,  the  trade  gained  will  not  be 
lasting. 

Development  of  Sales  Field. 

"Whether  your  product  shall  be  put  upon  the  market 
simultaneously  at  widely  scattered  points,  thus  develop- 
ing your  sales  campaign  extensively,  or  whether  you 
shall,  during  the  first  years,  sell  only  in  the  home  field 
near  the  factory,  and  gradually  extend  this  field,  de- 
veloping sales  intensively,  depends  largely  upon  cir- 
cumstances and  the  character  of  the  product.  Where 
the  product  is  something  quite  new  and  has  no  particu- 
lar vogue  in  the  home  field,  and  where  the  manufacturer 
has  sufficient  capital,  the  extensive  method  is  preferable, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  is  more  speculative.  Returns 
will  prove  richest  if  the  latter  method  is  employed,  as 
with  it  you  reach  out  the  long  arm  and  get  only  the  cream 
of  the  trade  over  a  wide  area.  Intensively,  the  buying 
spirit  must  be  greatly  stimulated  at  one  point. 

"We  adopted  a  combination  of  both  methods.  For 
the  first  years  the  output  was  sold  largely  near  the  fac- 
tory, and  the  advertising  attempted  to  bring  the  product 
before  the  public  in  and  about  Chicago  and  the  inlying 
sections  of  Illinois,  Indiana  and  Wisconsin.  I  was  not 
overburdened  with  cash  at  this  time.  Production  on  a 
large  scale  was  impossible,  and,  as  a  result,  I  could  not 
employ  salesmen  for  every  state  in  the  union,  nor  could  I 
have  supplied  them  with  the  goods  to  sell.  It  was  against 
my  business  instinct  and  principles  to  borrow  money  to 
flood  the  piano  markets,  which  might  have  proved  a  los- 
ing game,  or  at  least  a  slow  one.  The  location  of  the  fac- 
tory has  a  certain  advertising  value  in  its  immediate  vi^ 


204  A  MANUFACTURER'S  CAMPAIGN. 

cinity  and,  as  a  result,  the  development  of  the  home  sales 
field  was  my  first  care. 

Advertising  Methods. 

"In  bringing  a  new  manufactured  product  before  the 
public,  that  is,  in  advertising  it,  the  thing  to  be  avoided 
is  an  attempt  to  reach  too  large  a  clientele.  Scattering 
their  advertising  among  people  who  will  never  make 
buyers  is  the  mistake  of  the  new  manufacturer.  At  the 
same  time,  every  bit  of  fertile  sales  soil  should  be  utilized 
and  sown  with  the  seeds  of  advertising.  The  end  of  ad- 
vertising, it  should  be  remembered,  is  always  a  money 
return.  The  question  is,  then,  to  determine  to  whom  the 
advertisement  is  to  appeal — the  retailer,  the  consumer, 
or  both.  Modern  manufacturers'  advertising  has  de- 
veloped the  idea  that  it  is  always  best  to  make  the  ad- 
vertising appeal  to  both  the  retailer  and  the  consumer. 
This  is  a  principle  known  as  'selling  the  product  twice.' 
In  other  words,  the  manufacturer  does  publicity  adver- 
tising, first,  to  sell  to  the  dealer,  and,  second,  to  aid  the 
dealer  in  selling  to  the  consumer.  From  the  first  we  have 
confined  our  advertising  mostly  to  circular  letters  to  the 
consumer,  sending  catalogues  to  dealers,  and  advertis- 
ing in  the  daily  newspapers.  These  methods  all  work 
together. 

"The  advertisements  in  the  Chicago  newspapers  were 
the  basis  on  which  we  obtained  our  first  agents.  The  ad- 
vertisements worked  first  on  the  consumer.  He  saw  it  in 
the  paper,  and,  when  the  time  came  for  buying  a  piano, 
asked  his  dealer  whether  he  carried  it.  At  the  same  time 
the  dealer  was  perhaps  noticing  the  'ad'  from  day  to  day. 
The  inquiries  and  the  direct  appeal  of  the  advertisement 
influenced  him  to  write  in  to  the  house,  and  then  some 


A  MANUFACTURER'S  CAMPAIGN.  205 

representative  of  the  firm,  or  later,  when  we  had  them, 
salesman,  called /on  him  and  closed  a  bargain  by  which 
he  agreed  to  handle  our  product. 

"Every  inquiry  concerning  a  piano,  from  any  part  of 
the  country,  we  look  upon  as  a  sales  prospect,  and  enter 
the  name,  residence,  and  other  data  in  a  card  catalogue. 
If  the  inquirer  is  within  the  territory  of  one  of  our 
dealers,  the  letter  is  referred  to  him;  if  not,  to  our  own 
retail  sales  department  in  Chicago.  In  either  case  the 
battle  for  the  business  begins  at  this  point.  We  send 
out  circular  letters  to  the  inquirer  and  enter  this  fact 
on  the  card.  The  dealer  is  sent  additional  catalogues 
and  literature,  besides  plate  matter  to  run  in  the  daily 
newspapers.  This  circularizing  campaign  is  never 
dropped  until  the  'prospect'  is  landed.  Then  the  fact  of 
the  sale  is  entered  in  the  card,  which  is  removed  to  the 
dead  file. 

"The  circular  letter  should  be  brief  and  impress  upon 
the  reader  the  name  of  the  product,  its  individuality  and 
the  price. 

"Advertisements  in  newspapers  should  follow  along 
the  same  general  principle,  emphasizing  the  name,  the 
individuality,  the  price  and  the  fact  that  small  profits 
and  numerous  sales  make  the  central  idea  in  the  sales 
campaign  of  the  concern. 

Organization  of  Sales  Force. 

"As  the  number  of  dealers  handling  our  pianos  in- 
creased, salesmen  to  visit  them  became  necessary.  The 
first  problem  that  arises  in  organizing  a  force  of  sales- 
men for  any  manufactured  product  is  the  salary  system. 
Commission,  straight  salary,  and  a  combination  of  both 
are  variously  employed  by  different  firms.  Experience 


206  A  MANUFACTURER  S  CAMPAIGN. 

has  proved  in  a  large  number  of  cases,  however,  that  a 
straight  salary  basis  is  the  most  satisfactory.  The  Steger 
Piano  Company  employs  this  method.  We  never  pay 
commission.  My  idea  is  that  a  man  should  be  taken  upon 
a  guaranteed  salary  for  a  period  ending  with  the  time 
when  he  ceases  to  show  positive  results  in  his  work.  Long- 
time contracts  are  not  advisable,  as  they  are  principally 
advantageous  to  the  salesman.  In  case  a  year's  contract 
is  made,  if  a  salesman  proves  unsatisfactory  the  em- 
ployer is  bound  for  the  full  year.  In  case  he  gets  a  bet- 
ter offer  from  another  concern  at  a  salary  more  than  his 
firm  can  afford  to  pay,  the  chances  are,  if  not  released, 
he  will  shirk  his  work  and  his  discharge  is  made  necessary. 
So  the  employer  gets  the  short  end  in  either  case.  Long 
contracts  are  a  curse  to  any  employer. 

"Exclusive  territory  is  always  assigned  to  salesmen, 
and,  in  return,  money  results  and  a  thorough  canvass 
are  demanded.  A  system  for  knowing  just  how  well  a 
salesman  has  worked  his  territory  is  essential.  We  ac- 
complished this,  first,  by  requiring  daily  reports  of  our 
agents  and  traveling  men,  in  which  they  state  towns  and 
firms  visited,  sales  made,  or  the  reason  when  orders  are 
not  taken,  and  other  remarks  in  regard  to  the  condition 
of  the  territory ;  second,  in  case  any  suspicion  arises  as  to 
the  character  of  the  work  of  the  salesman,  we  send  out 
inquiries  to  dealers,  or  send  an  official  representative  of 
the  firm  to  look  over  the  territory. 

"The  salesman  aims  to  accomplish  much  more  than 
simply  to  canvass  his  territory  for  sales.  He  collects 
every  bit  of  information  of  any  possible  value  to  his 
firm.  He  compiles  lists  of  families  interested  in  his 
line,  which  he  obtains  from  dealers.  He  sends  in  lists 
of  dealers  who,  by  proper  pressure,  may  be  induced  to 


A  MANUFACTURER'S  CAMPAIGN.  207 

handle  the  line.  He  visits  new  towns,  establishes  new 
agencies,  enthuses  the  dealer  in  regard  to  the  good  sell- 
ing points  of  his  article,  and,  lastly,  he  acts  as  a  sort  of  a 
reporter  investigating  whether  the  dealer  has  played 
'square'  with  the  firm.  It  often  happens  that  a  dealer 
receives  a  consignment  of  pianos,  some  of  which  he  may 
sell  on  time.  Instead  of  forwarding  the  money,  when 
received,  to  the  house,  he  may  retain  it  and  not  report 
the  sale  for  a  considerable  time.  Thus  he  has  the  use 
of  all  moneys  collected.  The  salesman  checks  up  the 
number  of  instruments  on  hand,  number  received  at  dif- 
ferent dates,  and  the  number  sold.  Then  he  reports 
the  exact  condition  of  affairs. 

"A  manufacturer  often  sells  not  only  to  the  dealer 
but  to  the  consumer  direct.  His  campaign  and  terms 
of  payment  depend  upon  which  of  these  is  the  customer. 

"When  a  dealer  takes  the  agency  for  our  pianos,  he 
usually  is  sent  a  consignment  of  pianos  to  be  paid  for 
on  time.  A  small  cash  payment  is  usually  made,  and 
an  agreement  in  regard  to  the  balance  is  incorporated  in 
a  contract. 

Relation  of  Output  to  Credit. 

"If  a  European  piano  manufacturer  should  be  told 
of  the  yearly  output  and  sales  of  a  manufacturer  like  the 
Steger  plant,  he  would  be  incredulous.  His  yearly  sales 
would  fall  far  short  of  these  figures.  The  reason  is  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  European  sells  only  for  cash. 
Only  about  one-fourth  of  the  sales  of  the  American 
manufacturer  are  for  cash.  The  remainder  are  sold  on 
long-time  payments.  The  question  as  to  whether  a  cus- 
tomer is  a  safe  risk  or  not  is  one  which  is  determined  by 
investigations  of  our  central  offices  and  by  the  salesman. 


208  A  MANUFACTURER'S  CAMPAIGN. 

The  central  office  investigates  into  the  case  of  dealers  who 
are  to  be  made  agents.  They  depend  upon  reports  of 
Dun  and  Bradstreet  and  special  reports  from  banks. 
The  traveling  man  makes  investigations  in  the  town 
where  the  dealer  resides,  and  thus  learns  his  general  repu- 
tation for  meeting  his  obligations.  In  determining  the 
reliability  of  a  consumer  to  whom  the  manufacturer  sells 
direct,  a  combination  of  these  methods  is  used.  The 
dealer,  in  selling,  of  course,  takes  his  own  risk  and  uses 
whatever  methods  he  may  see  fit.  Both  dealer  and  man- 
ufacturer, in  selling  to  the  consumer  on  time,  take  back  a 
chattel  mortgage  on  the  property.-  To  the  consumer,  no 
discount  is  offered  for  cash ;  if  sold  on  time,  an  interest  of 
six  per  cent  is  charged  by  the  house.  To  the  dealer,  the 
manufacturer  allows  a  discount  for  cash.  If  he  takes  the 
pianos  on  time,  he  not  only  loses  the  discount  but  is 
charged  six  per  cent  interest. 

"The  average  cost  of  a  sale  and  the  average  profit 
are  factors  which  we  carefully  work  out.  Daily  re- 
ports of  the  traveling  men,  including  sales,  traveling  ex- 
penses, etc.,  together  with  the  cost  systems  and  data  col- 
lected at  the  factory,  enable  the  manufacturer  to  figure 
these  out  in  a  rough  way  every  day.  These  are  in  the 
nature  of  estimates,  however,  and  are  unsatisfactory.  At 
the  end  of  each  month  these  same  items,  covering  a  long 
period,  can  be  averaged  up,  and  the  average  cost  of  each 
sale  and  the  profit  can  be  determined  accurately." 


CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  TRAINING  OF  AGENTS. 

[The  three  practical  "Talks"  contained  in  this  chapter 
are  in  actual  use  by  a  large  Chicago  publishing  house  for 
the  instruction  of  its  numerous  agents.  They  were  pre- 
pared primarily  for  the  encouragement  and  aid  of 
young  people  making  their  first  attempt  at  selling,  but 
contain  much  that  is  applicable  to  salesmen  in  general.] 

No.  1. — Talk  on  Salesmanship. 

If  we  could  meet  you  face  to  face,  and  could  have  the 
benefit  of  your  interruption  and  inquiries  on  points  that 
may  not  be  clear,  you  would  obtain  of  course  a  better 
training  for  the  work  you  are  entering  upon  than  can 
possibly  be  had  in  any  other  way;  but,  since  we  can't 
have  this  meeting — just  at  present,  at  least — I  am  going 
to  try  to  talk  to  you  on  paper  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the 
same  way  that  I  would  if  we  were  sitting  together  in  my 
office. 

Overcrowded  Callings. — First  of  all,  I  want  to  say 
just  a  word  about  your  work.  Among  all  the  careers 
that  open  up  to  an  enterprising  man  or  woman,  nine- 
tenths  are  crowded  almost  to  the  point  of  suffocation. 
The  supply  is  greater  than  the  demand.  In  the  profes- 
sions, in  literature,  in  scientific  pursuits,  in  clerical  work, 
and  even  in  the  manual  trades,  energy  and  skill  are  rec- 

I.B.L.  Vol.  2—14  209 


210  THE  TRAINING  OF  AGENTS. 

ognized  only  after  many  years,  and  "starvation  wages" 
are  far  too  often  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception. 

A  Thing  for  Which  the  Demand  Is  Greater  Than  the 
Supply. — But  there  is  one  thing  which  the  world  always 
wants  and  will  always  pay  for — one  thing  for  which  the 
demand  is  greater  than  the  supply — one  possession  which 
will  always  make  your  upward  climb  to  larger  earning 
power  easier  and  easier  as  you  go  along.  It  is  salesman- 
ship that  is  in  such  demand — the  power  to  secure  a  hear- 
ing and  to  convince  your  hearer  that  you  have  the  thing 
he  wants.  This  power,  once  acquired,  will  be  your  most 
valuable  personal  asset.  You  can  use  it  first  to  obtain 
the  money  to  enable  you  to  complete  your  education,  or 
to  experiment  with  some  more  congenial  employment— 
and  if  you  fail  in  other  lines  you  can  return  to  salesman- 
ship and  build  up  your  fortunes  again.  It  will  stand 
between  you  and  the  wolf  at  the  door  in  many  a  tight 
squeeze. .  It  is  worth  acquiring  at  any  reasonable  cost  of 
time,  trouble,  expense  and  persistent  effort.  Do  not 
throw  away  any  good  opportunity  to  obtain  it,  for  the 
principles  upon  which  good  salesmanship  is  founded  will 
enable  you  to  pass  among  your  fellow-men  in  a  bright, 
jovial,  good-tempered  way,  which  will  smooth  over  many 
difficulties  and  give  you  a  power  of  accomplishment  in 
almost  any  line  which  you  undertake. 

How  to  Acquire  Salesmanship. — One  of  the  very  best 
ways  of  acquiring  the  art  of  salesmanship  is  to  under- 
take "field  work"  for  a  publishing  house.  People  who 
are  unused  to  the  work  of  selling  are  usually  somewhat 
shy,  diffident,  afraid  of  themselves,  unfamiliar  with 
travel  or  the  ways  of  the  world.  They  lack  self-con- 
fidence and  self-assurance,  they  do  not  know  how  to  best 


THE  TRAINING  OF  AGENTS.  211 

handle  themselves,  how  to  apply  the  knowledge  they  pos- 
sess or  how  to  invest  their  time  to  best  advantage.  In 
no  way  can  these  defects  be  remedied  more  quickly  and 
more  pleasantly  than  by  the  training  acquired  in  secur- 
ing subscriptions  for  some  good  book.  You  will  meet 
in  this  kind  of  work  the  best  and  most  cultured  people  of 
the  community. 

The  true  salesman  always  receives  most  courteous 
treatment  for  the  reason  that  he  never  bores  his  listener, 
he  never  makes  himself  obnoxious,  he  understands  his 
business,  his  listener  is  entertained  and  instructed  by  his 
conversation,  even  though  the  interview  does  not  always 
result  in  a  sale. 

Your  Personal  Attitude. — In  preparing  yourself  for 
this  work,  therefore,  you  should  be  profoundly  con- 
vinced of  its  dignity  and  worthiness.  You  are,  in  such 
work,  a  younger  brother  of  some  of  the  greatest  men  of 
the  world. 

George  Washington  in  his  youth  solicited  subscrip- 
tions for  a  book  entitled  "The  American  Savage;  How 
He  May  Be  Tamed  by  the  Weapons  of  Civilization." 
He  sold  over  two  hundred  copies  in  and  around  4Jexan- 
dria,  Va.,  while  he  was  surveying  Fairfax  county. 

In  the  great  palace  of  the  Louvre  in  Paris  may  be 
seen  today,  under  a  glass  case,  a  little  canvasser's  outfit 
which  was  used  by  the  Emperor  Napoleon  Bonaparte  in 
soliciting  subscriptions  in  his  youth  for  the  "History  of 
the  Revolution." 

Daniel  Webster  paid  his  second  month's  tuition  at 
Dartmouth  College  by  acting  as  agent  for  De  Tocque- 
ville's  "America." 

General  Grant  was  at  one  time  agent  for  Irving's 


212  THE  TRAINING  OF  AGENTS. 

"Columbus."  President  Hayes  canvassed  the  entire 
southern  part  of  Ohio.  President  Garfield  helped  to 
pay  his  way  through  Williams  College  by  canvassing. 
Prince  Bismarck  canvassed  during  one  of  his  vacations 
for  one  of  Blumenbach's  handbooks.  James  G.  Elaine 
sold  "The  Life  of  Henry  Clay." 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  every  one  of  these  persons 
has  left  in  his  memoirs  letters  to  indicate  that  he  was 
proud  to  have  been  self-supporting  in  this  way. 

Dignity  of  the  Work. — In  the  next  place,  after  be- 
coming convinced  of  the  dignity  of  the  work  itself,  you 
should  acquire  a  little  personal  dignity  (of  the  right 
kind) ,  in  the  knowledge  that  you  are  the  recognized  rep- 
resentative in  your  community  of  a  large  publishing 
house — that  you  are  on  its  general  staff,  in  almost  daily 
communication  with  its  managers,  and  that  they  regard 
you  as  a  valued  member  of  their  organization.  I  can- 
not impress  upon  you  too  strongly  the  fact  that  you  are 
"one  of  us"  quite  as  much  as  if  we  should  see  you  every 
day.  The  real  life  of  our  organization  is  in  our  agents 
and  general  agents.  It  is  you  who  are  "getting  the 
business,"  and  if  you  are  efficient,  persistent  and  valu- 
able to  us  as  an  agent  there  is  nothing  too  good  for  you. 
You  will  be  cordially  welcomed  to  our  offices  should  you 
have  occasion  to  visit  our  city.  We  will  be  glad  to  hear 
from  you  on  any  point  which  you  think  would  be  of  ben- 
efit to  our  business. 

Your  Calling  an  Honorable  One. — Bear  yourself, 
therefore,  among  your  prospective  customers  as  our  rep- 
resentative, with  simple,  quiet  courtesy  and  self-respect. 
You  should  meet  people  as  equals,  not  of  course  forcing 
yourself  upon  them  in  any  offensive  way,  but  at  all  times 


THE  TRAINING  OF  AGENTS.  218 

upholding  your  own  dignity  and  the  dignity  of  the  house 
you  represent.  Remember  that  you  have  a  business 
proposition  to  present  to  the  people ;  you  are  not  asking 
something  for  nothing,  but  are  giving  full  value  for 
money  received.  In  most  cases  the  person  will  be  just 
as  glad  to  give  you  the  order  as  you  will  be  to  record  it. 

No.  2.— Talk  on  Starting  Work. 

When  to  Start. — You  should  make  a  start  after  you 
have  finished  studying  "How  to  Sell"  and  "General  In- 
structions," which  accompanied  the  outfit.  The  sooner 
you  put  into  effect  the  suggestions  contained  therein  the 
less  likely  you  are  to  make  costly  mistakes  through  inex- 
perience. Home  practice  will  not  be  nearly  as  valuable 
as  actual  practice  in  the  field.  You  must  make  the 
plunge  some  time,  and  you  would  better  do  so  immedi- 
ately after  you  feel  reasonably  confident  that  your  prep- 
aration is  sufficiently  advanced.  It  is  only  by  thus  re- 
viewing what  we  think  we  know  that  we  learn  to  know 
what  we  know  we  know. 

A  Knowledge  Worth  Working  for. — Do  not  expect 
anything  unreasonable  the  first  few  days.  Men  spend 
four  years  in  college  and  three  more  in  professional 
schools,  and  then  willingly  accept  six  hundred  or  eight 
hundred  dollars  for  their  first  year  while  really  learning 
their  profession.  Mechanics  go  through  an  apprentice- 
ship of  three  or  four  years  for  their  board  and  clothes,  in 
order  to  prepare  themselves  to  earn  two  or  three  dollars 
daily.  And  yet  some  men  begrudge  the  brief  time  re- 
quired for  careful  study  and  the  time  given  to  prepara- 
tory work  in  order  to  acquire  skill  in  a  business  which 


214  THE  TRAINING  OF  AGENTS. 

will  enable  a  person  of  average  ability  to  clear  one  hun- 
dred dollars  a  month  and  upward. 

Weather  Conditions. — You  must  bear  in  mind  that 
canvassing  is,  in  the  main,  out-of-door  work,  and  if  you 
have  been  leading  an  indoor  life  you  must  not  be  dis- 
heartened by  a  rainy  spell  or  extremes  of  heat  and  cold 
occurring  just  when  you  are  commencing  work.  Rainy 
days  are  the  very  best  time  to  work  in  the  country  or  in 
business  districts.  Usually  farmers  and  merchants  have 
little  to  do  in  rainy  weather,  so  that  you  can  make  your 
calls  longer  and  come  nearer  to  taking  an  order  at  every 
call  you  make.  On  extremely  hot  days  you  can  solicit 
during  the  early  morning,  late  afternoon  and  evening. 
During  the  middle  of  the  day  you  can  devote  your  time 
to  getting  names  and  information  or  in  reading  your  in- 
structions for  selling  points  and  planning  your  cam- 
paign. A  great  captain  captures  a  city  in  his  head,  be- 
fore he  takes  the  field  with  his  army. 

Don't  Watch  the  Clock. — We  do  not  commend  even- 
ing work  as  a  general  thing,  provided  a  man  is  averag- 
ing eight  hours  a  day,  but  experience  proves  that  the 
men  who  get  results  are  not  those  who  ask  what  is  re- 
quired, but  those  who  are  alert  and  seize  upon  all  possible 
opportunities.  The  fact  that  some  of  the  best  work 
done  in  getting  subscriptions  has  been  performed  by 
spare-time  workers  in  the  evening  shows  that  this  portion 
of  the  day  is  one  in  which  results  can  be  secured.  Ap- 
pointments to  call  back  later  can  profitably  be  set  for  the 
evening. 

The  Great  Importance  of  Reports. — If  your  agree- 
ment with  the  company  calls  for  a  daily  report  you 
should  not  neglect  to  carefully  fill  it  out  in  the  manner 


THE  TRAINING  OF  AGENTS.  215 

indicated  and  promptly  mail  it.  Write  on  the  back  of 
each  daily  report  a  story  of  the  day's  work.  If  you  se- 
cure an  order  in  the  face  of  difficulty,  tell  about  it  for  the 
encouragement  and  inspiration  of  others.  If  you  are 
turned  down  by  some  knotty  objection,  report  it  and  ask 
for  suggestions.  Some  other  solicitor  has  probably 
found  some  way  to  overcome  this  difficulty,  and  the  head- 
quarters staff  will  tell  you  how  he  has  done  it. 

Do  not  fail  to  fill  out  each  space  in  every  report  with 
the  greatest  care.  There  is  not  a  waste  line  in  our  re- 
ports. Every  statement  is  full  of  meaning  to  us  and 
adds  to  the  helpfulness  of  our  reply.  It  is  necessary  for 
us  to  ask  you  to  answer  the  same  questions  day  after  day ; 
this  is  because,  while  we  shall  always  remember  you,  it  is 
impossible  to  carry  in  mind  all  the  details  of  your  work 
or  to  take  the  time  to  look  up  your  former  reports  while 
writing  you. 

We  cannot  impress  upon  you  too  strongly  the  value  of 
the  reports.  One  reason  for  requiring  them  which  will 
be  apparent  to  you  is  their  value  in  aiding  us  to  carry 
stock  for  the  prompt  filling  of  all  orders.  Let  us  as- 
sume that  we  have  from  1,000  to  1,800  active  workers  at 
one  time,  which  is  usually  the  case.  Suppose  that  500 
of  these  agents  would  fail  to  report  some  week,  and  that 
their  sales  amounted  to  3,500  books.  We  would  have  no 
way  of  telling  that  we  might  be  called  upon  very  quickly 
to  ship  that  number  of  books,  which  we  had  not  been 
counting  on.  You  can  readily  see  that  there  might  be 
some  delay.  In  a  case  where  we  do  run  low  on  any  par- 
ticular kind  of  stock  we  always  favor  the  agent  who  re- 
ported promptly. 


216  THE  TRAINING  OF  AGENTS. 

Making  a  Start. 

The  First  Plunge. — Having  thoroughly  posted  your- 
self on  the  merits  and  selling  qualities  of  your  samples, 
and  after  assimilating  our  letters  of  instructions,  you  are 
now  ready  to  commence  actual  operations.  You  may 
feel  a  good  deal  like  the  boy  who  stands  on  a  springboard 
over  the  swimming  hole.  He  dreads  to  dive  because  the 
water  looks  cold,  but  finally  he  screws  up  his  courage  to 
the  point  of  jumping  off,  and  when  he  comes  to  the  top 
he  wonders  how  he  could  have  feared  to  make  the  plunge, 
because  the  water  feels  so  good.  You  will  feel  the  same 
after  you  have  made  your  first  canvass. 

Try  it  on  a  Friend  First. — It  would  be  a  good  plan 
for  you  to  pick  out  some  member  or  an  "old  friend  of  the 
family" — in  whose  judgment  you  rely.  Go  to  him  and 
tell  him  of  your  engagement  with  us.  Explain  that, 
while  you  do  not  want  him  to  consider  that  you  are  seek- 
ing his  order,  you  wish  to  canvass  him  thoroughly  with 
the  object  of  getting  him  to  criticize  your  talk,  favorably 
or  otherwise ;  tell  him  that  you  want  him  to  offer  all  the 
objections  that  he  can  think  of,  so  that  you  may  try  your 
skill  in  overcoming  them.  He  will  of  course  agree,  and 
you  should  start  in  and  do  upon  him  the  best  job  of  can- 
vassing you  know  how.  This  induction  into  the  actual 
work  will  be  a  gradual  one  and  will  help  you  greatly. 
If  even  moderately  successful  with  the  canvass  you 
should  approach  the  next  person  who  would  seem  to  be 
a  good  "prospect,"  and  from  this  beginning  go  right 
ahead  with  the  work. 

Such  preliminary  experience  at  this  point  in  your  in- 
struction will  render  the  remainder  of  our  talks  and  in- 
structions a  great  deal  more  valuable  to  you  than  if  you 


THE  TRAINING  OF  AGENTS.  217 

studied  them  entirely  upon  theory.  It  will  enable  you  to 
absorb  and  apply  the  lessons  to  your  own  needs  as  you 
could  not  do  in  any  other  way. 

No.  3.— Talk  on  Success. 

"I  have  been  watching  the  careers  of  young  men  by 
the  thousands  in  this  busy  country  of  ours  for  over  thirty 
years,"  said  Dr.  Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  "and  I  find  that 
the  chief  difference  between  the  successful  and  the  fail- 
ures lies  in  the  single  element  of  staying  power.  Per- 
manent success  is  of  tener  won  by  holding  on  than  by  sud- 
den dash,  however  brilliant.  The  easily  discouraged, 
who  are  pushed  back  by  a  straw,  are  all  the  time  drop- 
ping to  the  rear,  to  perish  or  to  be  carried  along  on  the 
stretcher  of  charity.  They  who  understand  and  practice 
Abraham  Lincoln's  homely  maxim  of  'pegging  away' 
have  achieved  the  solidest  success." 

Experience  and  Inexperience. — Success  in  getting  or- 
ders depends  wholly  upon  the  self-interest  of  the  solic- 
itor. The  territory — that  is,  the  character  of  the  peo- 
ple, their  circumstances  in  life,  whether  rich  or  poor — 
their  disposition  with  regard  to  reading,  whether  they 
have  few  books  or  many — and  their  mental  attitude  to- 
wards solicitors,  whether  favorably  disposed  or  other- 
wise, are  all  matters  of  secondary  importance.  A  self- 
interested  solicitor  will  find  means  to  interest  and  enroll 
the  rich  and  poor  alike,  the  cultured  and  the  uncultured ; 
the  kindly  and  the  crabbed.  Such  skill  is  the  product  of 
experience.  No  one  is  born  with  it,  neither  does  it  come 
to  any  one  all  at  once.  The  difficulties  of  soliciting  may 
be  summed  up  in  one  word — inexperience.  The  cure  for 
them  all  is  equally  simple — experience. 


218  THE  TRAINING  OF  AGENTS. 

Every  beginner  must  needs  be  inexperienced  and 
hence  (unfortunately  from  one  point  of  view,  but  fortu- 
nately from  another) ,  all  the  difficulties  of  the  business 
are  bunched  together  and  hurled  at  him  at  the  very  start. 
The  first  few  days  form  his  period  of  trial.  After  the 
first  few  days  of  practice  the  problems  presented  become 
constantly  easier  of  solution,  and  the  earnest  worker 
who  puts  in  his  time  faithfully  learns  that  it  is  the  aver- 
age which  counts,  and  not  the  result  of  any  single  day's 
work.  He  looks  back  with  astonishment  upon  the  re- 
sults of  the  first  few  days  and  wonders  that  he  should 
have  found  so  difficult  in  the  beginning  tasks  which  now 
appear  so  easy  of  accomplishment. 

Theory  and  Practice. — Success  might  be  defined  as 
the  persistent  application  of  the  knowledge  gained  by 
experience,  coupled  with  determination  and  stick-to-it- 
iveness.  You  can  make  no  better  start  than  by  resolv- 
ing to  profit  as  much  as  possible  by  the  experience  of  oth- 
ers. Right  here  let  this  truth  sink  deeply  into  your 
mind;  every  problem  which  you  will  meet  has  been  solved 
many  times  in  the  past.  The  rules  of  salesmanship 
which  have  been  thus  deduced  are  entirely  trustworthy, 
and  are  the  result  of  actual  experience  of  our  agents  in 
the  field  and  not  merely  theory. 

The  Three  Factors  Which  Produce  Success. — Orders 
are  not  secured  by  luck  or  chance.  There  are  a  few  peo- 
ple in  every  community  who  will  want  your  goods  at 
sight.  Any  one  who  will  industriously  call  on  from  ten 
to  twenty  people  daily  will  secure  a  few  orders  of  this 
kind  without  much  effort.  Most  people  are  indifferent 
at  first,  and  must  be  interested;  first,  by  what  the  solicitor 
knows  and  feels  concerning  his  proposition;  second,  by 


THE  TRAINING  OF  AGENTS.  219 

what  he  says  about  it;  and  third,  by  public  opinion,  or 
what  others  have  said  or  done  about  his  book  in  the  com- 
munity itself  or  elsewhere. 

Master  Your  Proposition. 

Study  These  Lessons. — The  true  salesman  deals  in 
ideas ;  the  material  with  which  he  works  is  human  nature, 
and  his  brains  must  be  the  means  of  his  success.  Much 
thought  and  constant  study  should  be  given  to  his  work. 

The  subject  matter  of  our  talks  and  instructions  is  in- 
tended to  be  suggestive.  They  should  be  carried  in  your 
pocket  and  referred  to  frequently.  They  touch  upon 
practically  all  the  problems  you  will  meet  in  the  field  and 
suggest  working  plans  which  are  the  product  of  success- 
ful experience. 

A  thoughtful  study  of  these  suggestions  will  set  your 
mind  to  working  along  the  right  lines ;  but  you  can  learn 
to  apply  them  successfully  only  by  actual  practice.  At 
first  you  may  be  tempted  to  conclude  either  that  these 
plans  are  not  practical  or  that  you  are  not  adapted  to  our 
work.  The  truth  is  that  you  are  simply  inexperienced. 

Ideas  Are  the  Product  of  Thought. — The  fundamen- 
tal ideas  contained  in  any  good  book  are  not  so  numerous 
but  that  a  diligent  student  can  have  all  of  them  at  his 
tongue's  end.  The  mere  ability  to  give  the  main  facts 
of  each  chapter ;  to  briefly  retell,  in  your  own  words,  the 
main  points  of  it;  or  to  state  the  topics  discussed  by  the 
author,  would  give  a  solicitor  a  wealth  of  information 
and  a  description  which  would  be  invaluable. 

But  merely  knowing  the  contents  of  your  sample  and 
repeating  them  like  a  poll-parrot  is  not  sufficient.  You 
should  think  about  them  and  how  they  could  be  used  to 
best  advantage  by  different  classes  of  persons,  and  then, 


220  THE  TRAINING  OF  AGENTS. 

in  turn,  how  these  uses  can  best  be  illustrated  and  ex- 
plained. You  should  each  day  read  and  study  some  por- 
tion, sentence  by  sentence,  and  paragraph  by  paragraph, 
in  order  to  find  ideas  with  which  to  enrich  your  descrip- 
tion. If  you  do  this  then  the  work  will  be  a  pleasure  to 
you.  It  means  cheerfulness  and  hope,  which  are  them- 
selves powerful  factors  of  success. 

Preparation  for  the  Canvass. 

Know  What  You  Are  Going  to  Say. — How  to  pre- 
sent your  proposition,  that  is,  what  selling  points  to  ad- 
vance, what  language  to  employ,  and  in  what  order  they 
should  be  marshaled,  can  be  learned  from  the  printed 
canvasses,  which  you  received.  These  should  be  studied 
diligently  in  order  to  store  the  mind  with  good  points,  to 
be  presented  in  their  proper  order,  and  well  considered 
sentences.  And  they  should  be  practiced  until  all  evi- 
dence of  mechanical  "sing-song"  has  been  done  away 
with  and  a  spontaneous,  interesting  style  developed. 

Adapt  Your  Answers  to  Your  Customers. — This  pre- 
liminary training  is  indispensable,  but  it  provides  only  a 
foundation.  A  printed  canvass  must  be  of  a  general 
character,  but  in  actual  practice,  the  canvass  should  be 
adapted  to  the  person  you  are  canvassing.  In  order  to 
do  this  you  must,  of  course,  make  a  study  of  the  people 
you  canvass.  The  problem  of  how  to  adapt  your  propo- 
sition to  different  classes  must  be  taken  up  with  correct 
reference  to  the  proposition  itself. 

Your  Samples. — The  salesman's  outfit  with  which  we 
supplied  you  is  ample  for  your  needs.  Don't  make  the 
mistake  of  thinking  that  if  you  had  this  or  that,  or  some- 
thing else  you  could  do  better.  Such  is  not  the  case. 


THE  TRAINING  OF  AGENTS.  221 

Work  with  the  tools  with  which  we  supplied  you. 
Work  earnestly,  work  faithfully. 

Concentrate  your  mind  on  your  work,  remembering 
the  old  adage,  "Nothing  succeeds  like  success,"  so  there- 
fore, breathe  success,  think  success,  act  success,  talk  suc- 
cess—and BE  A  SUCCESS. 

"Luck  is  ever  waiting  for  something  to  turn  up ;  labor 
with  keen  eyes  and  strong  will  will  turn  up  something. 
Luck  lies  in  bed  and  wishes  the  postman  would  bring  him 
the  news  of  a  legacy;  labor  turns  out  at  6  o'clock,  and, 
with  busy  pen  or  ringing  hammer,  lays  the  foundation 
of  a  competence.  Luck  whines;  labor  whistles.  Luck 
relies  on  chance;  labor  on  character." — Cobden. 


•"Nothing  can  be  had  for  nothing;  whatever  a  man 
achieves  he  must  pay  for;  and  no  favor  of  fortune  can  ab- 
solve him  from  his  duty."— Taylor. 


"Whether  a  boy  is  from  farm  or  city,  rich  or  poor,  weak 
or  strong,  talented  or  not,  WILL  and  WORK  are  sure  to 
WIN.  Wishes  fail  but  wills  prevail  Labor  is  luck." 

— Crafts. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 
By  C.  E.  Zimmerman. 

PART  1. 

[The  following  practical  instructions  are  successfully  used  by  C.  E. 
Zimmerman  &  Co.,  Chicago,  experts  in  Publicity  and  Sales  Promotion, 
in  training  their  salesmen.  Experience  has  fully  demonstrated  their  value. 
They  are  clearly  applicable  to  other  lines  of  business  and  may  be  studied 
with  profit  by  all  salesmen. — Ed.] 

General  Instructions. 

Some  one  has  said  that  the  world  gives  its  big  prizes 
for  just  one  thing  and  that  is  Initiative,  which  is  doing 
the  right  thing  without  being  told,  and  that  next  to 
doing  right  without  being  told  is  doing  the  right  thing 
when  you  are  told — once.  The  writer  contends  that  four 
things  instead  of  one  secure  the  big  prizes  this  world  has 
to  offer.  They  are:  Initiative,  Decision,  Dispatch  and 
Perseverance.  If  you  will  cultivate  these  four  quali- 
ties in  your  dealings  with  the  house  and  customers,  your 
success  is  unquestionable. 

While  no  ironclad  rules  or  instructions  can  be  laid 
down  for  selling  goods,  the  following  is  the  result  of 
months  of  experience  on  this  proposition  [selling  an 
advertising  service]  and  much  of  the  information  is  the 
result  of  years  of  work  by  many  men  who  have  been 
remarkably  successful  in  selling  goods.  As  the  same 
knowledge  applies  to  all  lines  of  salesmanship  there  can 

223 


224  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

be  no  question  of  the  value  of  this  information,  which 
has  taken  years  of  patient  labor  and  experience  to  ac- 
quire, and  it  is  expected  that  you  will  assimilate  it  thor- 
oughly and  use  it  to  the  best  possible  advantage. 

The  first  step  toward  success  on  this  proposition  is  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  goods  and  of  the  principles  of 
advertising.  The  statement  has  been  made  that  a  man's 
education  never  ceases  until  he  dies.  If  he  is  an  edu- 
cated man  he  is  learning  new  things  every  day.  Like- 
wise the  man  on  this  proposition  will  learn  new  things 
about  advertising  every  day  and  the  salesman  who  is  not 
constantly  seeking  to  do  this,  who  is  not  making  the  in- 
formation gathered  a  part  of  himself,  so  he  can  impart 
it  to  his  prospective  customers,  cannot  be  expected  to 
succeed  to  our  mutual  satisfaction.  The  salesman  who 
grasps  the  principles  of  this  proposition  can  learn  some- 
thing from  the  ads  in  every  magazine  he  picks  up.  He 
can  look  on  the  shelves  of  any  store  and  recognize  the 
goods  that  he  has  seen  advertised,  reason  out  the  causes 
of  their  successful  sales  and  use  this  knowledge  every 
day  in  a  way  which  will  make  him  dollars  and  cents. 

Working  Your  Territory. 

We  believe  it  profitable  to  make  every  town  where 
there  is  a  newspaper  and  a  bank.  Some  salesmen  are 
accustomed  to  picking  off  the  easy  ones.  Such  men  will 
not  make  the  big  money  on  this  proposition  and  can 
only  expect  to  hold  their  territory  until  we  can  secure  the 
services  of  a  salesman  who  will  draw  every  contract  out 
of  a  territory  there  is  in  it.  You  have  heard  the  axiom 
"The  bigger  they  are  the  harder  they  fall,"  and  on  this 
proposition  the  deader  the  town  is  the  more  it  can  be 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  225 

stirred  up  when  the  proposition  is  put  up  right.  If  you 
are  looking  for  the  proposition  to  sell  itself  to  the  mer- 
chant, keep  out  of  these  towns.  Never  start  out. 

A  short  time  ago  one  of  the  most  successful  merchants 
in  America,  a  man  who  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the 
success  of  Marshall  Field  &  Company,  opened  a  de- 
partment store  in  London.  The  business  men  over  there 
told  Mr.  Self  ridge  he  could  not  advertise;  that  in  Lon- 
don it  had  been  the  custom  for  hundreds  of  years  to 
have  shops  and  not  stores;  that  their  people  had  been  in 
a  rut  too  long  to  adopt  American  methods.  It  took 
a  lot  of  courage  founded  upon  experience  and  knowl- 
edge to  take  the  bold  step  that  Mr.  Self  ridge  did.  He 
was  even  told  that  his  business  would  be  ruined  if  he  at- 
tempted to  display  goods  in  windows  according  to  the 
custom  of  American  department  stores.  For  hundreds 
of  years  British  merchants  had  pulled  down  heavy  bars 
over  the  windows  at  night,  a  remnant  of  the  barbaric 
times  when  they  had  to  do  this  for  protection. 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  that  in  one  year 
Mr.  Selfridge  was  doing  more  business  than  all  the  com- 
peting shops  of  London  combined. 

It  was  the  custom  when  a  customer  went  into  an  Eng- 
lish shop  for  the  manager  to  approach  him  and  ask  him 
what  he  wanted  to  buy.  If  he  said  he  came  to  look  at 
something,  the  manager  would  motion  to  the  door  and 
say  "This  way  out,  please." 

Can  you  imagine  a  town  in  the  United  States  as  con- 
servative, as  backward  about  advertising  and  as  hard 
to  start  things  in  as  the  conditions  Mr.  Selfridge  had  to 
go  up  against?  Yet  he  has  made  ten  times  the  success 
that  would  have  been  possible  had  people  over  there  al- 

I.B.I,.  Vol.  2—15 


226  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

ready  adopted  modern  business  methods  and  up-to-date 
advertising. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  you  cannot  expect  to  ,vake 
people  up  unless  you  are  enthusiastic  yourself.  Any 
man's  success  can  go  no  higher  than  this  enthusiasm, 
any  more  than  water  can  run  uphill.  And  enthusiasm 
is  founded  on  knowledge. 

I  don't  mean  that  any  man  can  take  our  proposi- 
tion and  in  a  month's  time  be  able  to  present  it  in  a  way 
which  will  enable  him  to  make  a  clean-up  in  what  is 
known  as  a  dead  town.  But  I  do  know  from  experience 
that  any  topnotch  salesman  who  will  get  this  proposi- 
tion down  right  can  do  this  in  time  and  this  is  what 
means  big  money  for  us  both.  The  results  obtained 
by  our  customers  and  their  attitude  toward  us  convince 
us  that  98  per  cent,  of  them  at  a  conservative  estimate 
will  use  our  next  year's  services.  The  only  merchant 
who  will  not  is  the  one  who  has  let  the  service  lie  unused 
under  his  counter  and  who  for  some  reason  or  other  is 
not  ambitious.  We  are  trying  by  means  of  a  lecture  on 
advertising,  going  out  with  their  monthly  statements,  to 
bring  them  to  life,  and  with  the  cooperation  of  the  sales- 
man in  presenting  the  proposition  properly,  not  merely 
securing  the  order,  we  can  make  every  territory  a  golden 
harvest  field  for  our  salesmen  as  well  as  ourselves.  It 
is  our  intention  to  give  every  man  who  does  justice  to  his 
territory  the  permanent  business  in  such  territory  as  long 
as  he  is  connected  with  us  and  handling  it  properly. 

Many  men  connected  with  us  have  previously  been 
making  less  than  $100  a  week.  When  a  man  doubles  his 
income  at  once  it  isn't  the  proposition  alone  that  does  it. 
We  don't  pretend  to  have  a  business  where  a  man  can 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  227 

make  money  easy,  but  simply  one  where  the  opportuni- 
ties for  initiative,  for  decision  and  dispatch,  and  the  re- 
ward for  perseverance,  are  so  very  much  greater  than 
in  the  ordinary  business  as  to  stimulate  him  into  action, 
—and  then  unlike  most  any  other  business,  the  oppor- 
tunity is  before  him  to  develop  and  produce  to  his  full 
capacity. 

Before  attempting  to  call  on  a  merchant  or  the  banker 
with  our  proposition,  a  salesman  must  be  convinced  that 
he  is  taking  the  best  proposition  into  their  place  of  busi- 
ness that  has  ever  been  presented  to  them,  that  he  is 
asking  no  favors  and  that  he  is  doing  far  more  for  the 
man  he  sells  than  the  merchant  can  do  for  the  salesman. 
Treat  your  customer  with  the  courtesy  due  an  equal, 
but  with  the  self -consciousness  that  you  are  asking  no 
favors  of  him. 

Initiative. 

The  man  without  initiative  is  an  order-taker,  not  a 
salesman,  and  if  you  belong  to  this  class  get  an  order- 
taker's  job.  We  do  not  pretend  this  proposition  to  be 
such.  The  order-taker,  the  man  who  has  no  initiative, 
is  in  a  rut,  and  the  only  difference  between  a  rut  and  a 
grave  is  width  and  depth,  and  dead  ones  are  found  in 
both  places. 

Decision. 

The  man  without  decision  is  the  man  without  fire. 
His  wishbone  is  where  his  backbone  ought  to  be.  Any- 
one has  intelligence  enough  to  know  what  he  ought  to 
do  if  he  will  simply  exert  his  mind  enough  to  do  it. 
"Be  sure  you  are  right  and  then  go  ahead"  is  a  piece  of 
the  best  advice  ever  given  to  humanity. 


228  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

Dispatch. 

The  habit  of  getting  busy  and  keeping  so  along  the 
above  lines  is  the  difference  between  a  $10  man  and  a 
$10,000  man.  When  you  add  Ability,  which  is  nine- 
tenths  application  to  your  work,  to  dispatch,  you  can  get 
just  about  anything  you  want  in  the  way  of  business  or 
anything  else. 

When  you  go  in  to  talk  to  an  editor,  don't  visit  with 
him.  Get  the  information  you  want  in  a  businesslike 
manner  and  get  out.  Don't  swap  stories.  It  doesn't 
make  you  any  money  and  it  doesn't  raise  you  in  his  es- 
timation as  a  business  man  one  peg.  This  principle 
has  been  proven  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  times  since 
the  days  of  the  old-time  drummer,  with  his  loud  clothes, 
his  funny  stories,  his  strong  cigar  and  strong  breath. 
When  you  talk  to  a  customer,  talk  business  to  him,  or 
something  that  pertains  to  business.  I  don't  necessar- 
ily mean  that  you  have  to  talk  advertising  every  minute. 
Sometimes  you  must  approach  him  from  a  different 
standpoint.  I  want  to  give  an  example  of  this,  which 
demonstrates  real  salesmanship: 

A  typewriter  salesman  found  that  he  could  usually 
do  business  with  men  who  advertise,  because  they  were 
always  the  live  business  men  of  the  town.  When  he 
went  into  a  town,  therefore,  the  first  thing  he  did  was 
to  call  on  the  editor  of  the  paper  and  find  out  who  the 
live  advertisers  were;  then  when  he  went  into  a  store 
he  did  not  say  anything  about  typewriters,  but  began 
to  talk  with  them  about  advertising.  This  was  their 
hobby.  He  complimented  them  upon  the  appearance 
of  their  ads.  He  would  then  look  around  for  some 
calendar  or  novelty  which  they  were  using  and  compli- 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SEEVICE.  229 

ment  them  upon  this  also.  He  didn't  waste  time  in 
telling  stories;  he  talked  business,  and  as  he  had  picked 
up  a  considerable  knowledge  of  advertising,  was  often 
able  to  tell  them  things  of  interest  and  value  to  them. 
Then  he  would  finally  say: — "Well,  the  work  you  are 
doing  is  excellent.  It  is  great.  It  undoubtedly  stimu- 
lates your  business  and  does  a  great  deal  to  build  up  your 
trade  and  weld  all  of  your  customers  into  a  permanent, 
enduring  patronage.  However,  you  are  overlooking 
one  great  big  point.  You  are  stimulating  the  people 
who  trade  with  you,  but  now  the  ones  you  want  to  go 
after  big  are  the  ones  you  never  meet  personally  and  who 
do  not  come  into  your  store." 

The  merchants  naturally  would  ask  how  this  could 
be  done,  and  the  salesman  would  tell  them,  "By  means 
of  a  personal  letter."  Then  he  would  proceed  to  sell  his 
typewriter,  offering  to  instruct  one  of  their  girls  how  to 
use  it,  etc. 

Perseverance. 

Paderewski  was  once  complimented  upon  his  bril- 
liant playing  and  turning  with  a  smile  he  said:  "I 
played  with  an  orchestra  in  Vienna.  My  work  lasted 
four  hours  a  day.  After  I  was  through  with  my  regular 
work  I  practiced  on  the  piano  for  twelve  hours  every  day. 
Often  my  arms  and  shoulders  were  stiff  and  numb,  but  I 
did  this  for  fourteen  years.  The  other  musicians 
laughed  at  me  and  called  me  a  fool.  Now  people  ap- 
plaud and  call  me  a  genius." 

The  man  who  wins  a  race  is  not  always  the  best  run- 
ner. Usually  he  isn't  the  man  who  is  ahead  the  first  lap, 
but  he  is  the  sticker.  When  he  comes  down  the  home- 
stretch he  endures  agonies.  His  legs  feel  like  pieces  of 


280  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

wood.  It  takes  every  bit  of  endurance  and  will  power  he 
has  to  keep  moving.  However,  the  other  runners  feel 
the  same  way  and  the  man  who  wins  is  the  one  who  grits 
his  teeth  and  runs  the  hardest. 

The  successful  salesman,  the  man  who  makes  money 
year  in  and  year  out,  the  man  who  has  the  good  job, 
isn't  the  cleverest  one.  He  is  the  one  who  works,  who 
uses  his  head.  Today  there  are  ten  geniuses,  as  the 
word  is  usually  applied,  walking  the  streets  of  Chicago 
who  do  not  know  where  their  next  meal  is  coming  from, 
to  every  one  of  their  number  wrho  has  a  decent  living. 

Master  the  Proposition. 

Now  if  you  have  read  our  instructions  thus  far,  make 
up  your  mind  before  starting,  to  master  the  proposition. 
If  you  do  you  will  be  enthusiastic  about  it.  And  don't 
start  until  you  have  mastered  it  and  are  enthusiastic. 
If  you  cannot  do  this,  you  are  in  the  wrong  business. 
You  have  the  goods,  the  facts,  and  your  proposition  is 
sold  only  on  truth  and  merit,  and  the  most  talking  points 
and  the  most  convincing  arguments  that  any  salesman 
has  ever  been  able  to  offer.  Your  enthusiasm  ought  to 
be  so  strong  that  it  will  sweep  away  objections  like  a 
grain  of  chaff  in  a  cyclone.  No  objections  or  the  indif- 
ference of  a  customer  should  make  you  waver  one  instant 
in  presenting  your  proposition  properly  to  him. 

You  must  respect  yourself  in  order  that  others  may 
respect  you.  You  must  be  enthusiastic  in  order  to  im- 
part enthusiasm.  You  must  be  determined  in  order 
to  impress. 

You  know  you  are  offering  the  customer  something 
which  saves  his  time,  saves  his  money,  doesn't  require 
any  work  on  his  part,  being  purely  automatic,  and  is  as 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  231 

surely  a  source  of  profit  as  money  in  any  bank.  You  are 
convinced  of  this.  Experience  has  demonstrated  it  with 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  merchants.  You  do  not  ask 
him  to  buy  on  his  judgment  alone,  or  on  your  presenta- 
tion, but  on  the  judgment  and  results  of  these  mer- 
chants as  well.  Make  the  customer  want  it  badly  enough 
by  showing  him  the  need  of  it  and  he  will  buy. 

Origin  of  Advertising. 

Contrary  to  the  general  impression,  advertising  was 
successfully  used  long  before  the  art  of  printing.  The 
most  famous  advertiser  who  has  ever  existed,  either  from 
a  literary  or  commercial  standpoint,  was  Julius  Csesar. 
Advertising,  however,  was  not  a  new  idea  with  him, 
but  he  followed  the  same  principles  of  previous  rulers, 
who  hired  scribes  or  historians  to  write  up  their  con- 
quests of  battles  and  noise  them  about  the  country. 
These  reports  or  advertisements  dwelt  upon  the  number 
of  their  men,  their  ferocity,  their  strength,  their  valor 
and  their  deeds  of  courage.  This  enabled  Csesar  to 
overcome  many  tribes  without  battle  and  the  incidental 
cost  and  loss  of  life.  Once  this  is  called  to  your  atten- 
tion, no  doubt  you  are  too  familiar  with  his  history  to 
make  it  necessary  to  dwell  longer  on  any  facts  connected 
with  his  success.  Compare  him,  however,  with  some  of 
the  gigantic  mercantile  institutions  of  today. 

What  local  dealer  does  not  dread  the  name  of  Sears, 
Roebuck  &  Company?  Has  he  ordered  goods  from 
them?  Has  he  compared  their  prices  with  his,  article 
for  article,  quality  for  quality,  price  for  price? 

How  many  local  merchants  do  you  know  who  can  be 
compared  to  the  small  village  overcome  by  Caesar's  men  ? 


232  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

How  many  local  merchants  have  dared  to  order  goods 
from  a  mail-order  house,  place  them  in  their  windows 
alongside  of  their  own  merchandise,  asking  customers 
to  make  comparisons  and  draw  their  own  conclusions? 

Such  merchants  have  every  advantage  over  their  far- 
away competitors.  They  are  right  on  the  ground,  can 
have  customers  see  their  goods  before  they  buy,  can  meet 
them  personally.  Their  customers  have  to  pay  no 
freight  charges,  take  no  chances.  If  anything  is  wrong 
they  can  walk  right  into  the  store  and  have  it  made 
right.  Still  with  all  these  tremendous  advantages,  they 
pay  tribute  to  the  powers  of  advertising. 

Early  Attempts  at  Advertising. 

Advertising  was  next  taken  up  by  merchants  or  trades- 
men by  having  the  town-crier  or  nightwatch,  after  call- 
ing the  hour  and  announcing  the  executions,  sales  of 
lands  seized  for  taxes,  and  other  matters  of  local  inter- 
est, announce  that  merchants  had  certain  commodities  in 
quantities,  that  ships  had  arrived  with  wares,  etc.  etc. 

With  the  invention  of  printing,  affairs  of  impor- 
tance began  to  be  reproduced  and  distributed  in  pam- 
phlet form,  of  which  the  modern  newspaper  is  the  out- 
growth. Only  a  small  percentage  of  the  population  at 
this  time  took  papers  or  were  able  to  read  them,  and  the 
growth  of  advertising  and  newspapers  has  been  in 
exact  proportion  to  the  decrease  of  illiteracy.  No  news- 
paper has  ever  been  successful  to  any  extent  except 
through  its  advertising  columns,  and  the  more  that  illit- 
eracy has  decreased  the  more  advertising  has  paid,  until 
today  in  the  country  or  community  where  science  has 
reduced  the  cost  of  printing  to  such  a  nominal  figure 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  233 

that  every  one  can  afford  the  one-time  luxury  of  a  news- 
paper, where  every  one  can  read,  we  do  not  wonder  that 
"Advertising  pays  "  has  become  an  axiom. 

The  first  advertisements  were  the  announcements  of 
artisans  that  this  one  was  able  to  build  a  well,  that  one 
was  able  to  build  a  chimney,  or  another  did  smithing,  etc. 
Closely  following  this  came  the  notice  of  information 
pertaining  to  the  sale  of  goods  by  individuals,  which  has 
gradually  developed  into  the  present-day  advertising. 

The  strength  of  advertising  is  so  great  that  it  has 
been  abused  and  used  with  marked  success  in  exploiting 
fraudulent  causes,  two  of  the  most  prominent  being  the 
one  known  in  England  as  the  South  Sea  Island  Com- 
pany, and  the  one  in  France  known  as  the  Mississippi 
Bubble,  both  of  which  occurred  in  the  18th  century. 

It  was  not  uncommon  a  few  years  ago  to  see  ads  in 
reputable  papers  and  magazines  which  were  simply  bait 
for  suckers.  The  magazines  going  into  the  rural  districts 
would  contain  an  ad  offering  a  steel  engraving  of 
Washington  for  $1.00.  The  person  sending  it  would 
receive  a  two-cent  stamp,  which  did  contain  a  steel  en- 
graving of  Washington. 

No  doubt  you  are  all  familiar  with  advertisements  of 
this  nature,  which  were  so  prevalent  a  few  years  ago. 
Different  magazines,  however,  recognizing  the  harm 
this  did  to  legitimate  advertisers,  thereby  destroying  con- 
fidence, which  was  the  life  of  trade,  began  to  refuse  their 
columns  to  such  advertisers  and  today  will  only  accept 
the  advertisements  of  legitimate  concerns  of  high  stand- 
ing. Many  magazines  now  offer  to  refund  to  their  sub- 
scribers any  losses  they  sustain  from  any  advertising 
appearing  in  their  columns,  and  even  the  cheapest  maga- 


234  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

zines  refuse  their  columns  to  get-rich-quiek  schemes 
and  questionable  advertisements.  Simply  because  it 
pays. 

Presentation  of  the  Proposition. 

The  first  thing  upon  landing  in  a  town  is  to  get  the 
cooperation  of  the  newspaper.  This  is  very  easily  ob- 
tained if  your  proposition  is  presented  properly  to  them, 
as  follows: 

"Mr.  Editor,  my  name  is  Salesman.  I  am  associated 
with  the  syndicate  department  of  .the  C.  E.  Zimmerman 
Co.  of  Chicago.  The  object  of  my  visit  to  your  city  is 
to  contract  with  your  best  advertisers  in  every  line  for  a 
high-grade  agency  service  which  we  are  able  to  furnish 
them  by  syndicating  it  with  merchants  all  over  the  coun- 
try at  the  ridiculously  low  price  of  $1.00  a  week." 

The  newspaper  man  must  be  given  plainly  to  under- 
stand that  we  are  not  furnishing  cut  service  and  that  he 
has  never  seen  a  proposition  like  ours  before. 

"I  take  it  for  granted  that  like  every  other  newspaper 
man  I  have  called  on,  you  are  deeply  interested  in  my 
proposition,  because  it  benefits  you  in  a  great  many  ways 
and  for  this  reason  I  am  going  to  frankly  ask  your  co- 
operation in  my  work  here  to-day.  Here  are  some  of  the 
benefits  you  derive  from  our  work: 

"First,  we  furnish  a  weekly  service  to  our  clients. 
Every  man  we  do  business  with  practically  is  giving  you 
a  contract  for  space  for  one  year.  Usually  our  clients 
use  additional  space  on  account  of  our  service,  which  will 
benefit  you. 

"Second,  it  undoubtedly  will  improve  the  appearance 
of  your  paper,  as  the  work  we  furnish  is  such  as  can  only 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  235 

be  turned  out  by  high-class  agencies,  and  this  will  natur- 
ally stimulate  your  advertising. 

"Third,  by  referring  to  the  papers  I  have  here  contain- 
ing specimen  ads  you  will  see  that  where  one  bank,  for 
instance,  takes  up  our  service,  the  other  banks  in  a  town 
almost  immediately  begin  to  advertise,  using  as  much 
or  more  space,  although  their  efforts  are  often  ridiculous 
in  comparison  with  the  bank  that  is  fortunate  enough  to 
be  our  client. 

"Fourth,  you  are  not  compelled  to  write  ads  for  these 
people,  as  you  are  at  the  present  time,  or  suffer  the  alter- 
native of  having  them  run  the  same  ad  over  and  over 
again,  or  not  at  all." 

Then  go  over  the  advertising  columns  and  find  what 
merchants  or  banks  are  advertising.  Often  the  editor 
will  know  some  concern  that  would  advertise  if  they  had 
an  advertising  man.  After  getting  the  lay  of  the  land 
then  say:  "Now,  Mr.  Editor,  which  one  of  these  banks 
are  you  the  closest  to  in  a  personal  or  business  way — the 
one  that  at  the  same  time  is  a  live  one  and  will  be  able  to 
see  the  advantages  of  my  proposition?"  He  will  usual- 
ly mention  some  bank  and  then  if  there  is  a  telephone  on 
his  desk,  pick  it  up  and  say,  "What  is  the  telephone 
number?"  When  he  tells  you  simply  hand  the  telephone 
to  him  with  the  remark,  "Will  you  tell  the  bank  that  Mr. 
Salesman  is  on  the  way  over  to  see  him  at  your  request 
with  the  best  proposition  for  his  advertising  that  you 
have  ever  seen,  and  that  you  think  he  will  be  interested  in 
it?" 

If  the  telephone  is  not  convenient,  or  if  you  see  the 
editor  is  a  man  of  enough  influence  to  count,  simply  ask 
him  to  go  right  along  down  there  with  you  and  introduce 


236  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

you.  Don't  be  afraid  to  do  it  or  hesitate,  for  you  are 
doing  the  newspaper  far  more  good  than  you  are  doing 
yourself  or  the  C.  E.  Zimmerman  Company.  And  re- 
member that  it  is  just  as  important  to  sell  the  news- 
paper man  on  your  proposition  as  it  is  to  sell  the  cus- 
tomer. Don't  let  him  retain  the  idea  for  a  minute  that 
you  simply  want  his  approval,  but  that  you  want  his 
hearty  cooperation  and  you  are  justified  in  having  it. 
Our  service  is  just  as  important  to  the  newspaper  as  it 
is  to  the  advertiser.  If  you  can't  sell  the  newspaper  man 
on  it,  when  it  costs  him  nothing,  you  can't  expect  to  sell 
it  to  the  advertiser  for  $52.00. 

It  might  be  advisable  to  give  him  the  impression  that 
we  have  other  things  besides  advertisements  for  his 
paper,  that  you  do  business  with  the  majority  of  the 
people  you  call  on  and  that  it  is  up  to  him  to  do  the  right 
thing  by  you.  Show  him  that  the  great  majority  of 
salesmen  who  have  a  proposition  for  the  promotion  end 
of  his  merchants'  business,  as  trading  stamps,  calendars, 
circular  letter  machines,  novelties,  and  a  thousand  and 
one  other  things,  tend  to  take  business  away  from  him 
instead  of  giving  it  to  him,  and  that  our  interests  are 
mutual  in  having  this  expenditure  for  such  articles 
turned  into  the  channel  of  newspaper  advertising. 

With  a  proper  understanding  of  your  attitude  to- 
ward the  newspaper  man,  you  can  see  it  will  not  be 
necessary  to  visit  with  him,  swap  stories,  loaf  in  his  office, 
or  do  anything  else  but  talk  cold,  hard  business,  right 
to  the  point. 

Introductory  Talk. 

Then  when  you  are  ready  to  call  on  your  customer 
proceed  as  follows: 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  23T 

"Mr.  Merchant,  my  name  is  Salesman.  I  am  associ- 
ated with  the  syndicate  department  of  the  C.  E.  Zimmer- 
man Company  of  Chicago.  The  object  of  my  visit  is  to 
offer  you  the  service  of  one  of  the  best  advertising  men 
in  Chicago  for  less  money  than  it  takes  you  to  get  your 
store  swept  out  of  a  morning.  You  can  remember,  not 
many  years  ago,  when  a  man  in  your  line  of  business 
did  not  advertise.  Advertising  pays,  you  know  very 
well,  but  the  reason  for  the  majority  of  people  in  towns 
of  this  size  advertising  is  the  big  successes  that  have 
been  made  by  the  concerns  that  have  done  it  in  a  scien- 
tific manner  and  thereby  accomplished  big  results. 

"Franklin  discovered  electricity.  He  knew  there  was 
a  force  there,  just  as  you  realize  there  is  a  force  in  ad- 
vertising, but  he  did  not  know  how  to  apply  it.  People 
who  know  how  to  apply  electricity  today  are  running 
street  cars  and  factories  with  it  and  lighting  cities. 

"Advertising  science  is  scarce.  This  and  the  fact  that 
it  accomplishes  big  results  makes  it  valuable.  In  accord- 
ance with  the  progress  along  commercial  lines,  we  are 
able  to  offer  you  an  advertising  motor.  In  other  words, 
to  give  you  the  service  of  one  of  the  best  advertising  men 
in  the  country,  who  will  work  for  you  automatically  and 
still  do  you  just  as  much  good  as  if  he  was  working  right 
here  in  your  store  at  a  big  salary.  I  take  it  for  granted 
that  like  other  wideawake  merchants  you  will  be  deeply 
interested,  for  several  reasons.  The  first  is  that  you 
haven't  the  time  to  write  your  own  ads.  How  many 
times  in  the  last  year  have  you  asked  your  editor  to  write 
your  ads  for  you?  How  many  times  have  you  told  him 
to  run  the  same  ad  over  again  or  to  leave  it  out  alto- 
gether. 


238  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

"Now  since  we  are  going  to  talk  about  advertising,  I 
am  going  to  ask  you  what  advertising  is?"  [The  mer- 
chant will  usually  hesitate  when  you  ask  this  question. 
Pause  long  enough  to  let  him  realize  that  he  does  not 
know  what  it  is,  but  not  long  enough  to  antagonize  him, 
then  say: — ]  "Before  you  can  answer  I  am  going  to 
tell  you,  for  there  aren't  many  men  in  the  country  who 
actually  know,  and  they  are  men  who  do  nothing  but 
write  ads.  Advertising  is  simply  one  thing — that  is, 
molding  public  opinion  in  your  favor,  and  I  am  going  to 
show  you  how  this  is  done,  explain  the  underlying  prin- 
ciples that  give  advertising  its  force  and  which  have 
built  up  the  biggest  business  houses  in  the  world — busi- 
ness houses  which  could  not  occupy  the  positions  they 
do  in  any  other  way. 

"Advertising  is  first  attention.  When  you  go  into  the 
newspaper  you  are  in  competition  with  three  things. 
First,  with  the  news  end  of  the  paper,  which  has  not  only 
local  items  of  interest,  but  the  news  gathered  from  all 
over  the  world  by  the  Associated  Press,  which  syndicates 
it  the  same  as  we  syndicate  advertising.  Second,  is  the 
editorial  part  of  the  paper.  There  are  trained  minds 
working  on  this  matter,  packing  every  column  and  every 
paragraph  with  items  of  intense  interest  to  the  readers. 
Then  we  come  to  the  third  part  of  the  paper,  the  adver- 
tisements. This  is  just  what  the  man  bought  the  paper 
for,  and  if  you  want  to  interest  him  you  must  get  his 
attention.  Black  type,  common  stock,  cuts  or  threadbare 
statements  about  better  goods  for  less  money  won't  do  it. 

"You  have  been  in  this  room  all  day  and  you  haven't 
heard  that  clock  tick  once.  It  is  monotonous.  It  is 
simply  the  same  thing  over  and  over  again.  The  kind 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  289 

of  advertisements  I  have  just  mentioned  are  as  mon- 
otonous as  the  tick  of  a  clock  and  attract  no  more  atten- 
tion. Take  the  pages  of  any  magazine  where  the  space 
costs  from  $500  to  $6,000  a  page  and  you  will  see  that 
these  people  who  have  to  depend  upon  advertising  alone 
for  business  recognize  the  value  of  attention  and  that 
wherever  possible  they  get  it  by  means  of  a  picture  or 
illustration. 

"Now  look  at  this  advertisement."  [Show  him  one  of 
ours  in  a  paper.]  "Won't  you  agree  with  me  that  nine 
people  out  of  ten  who  turn  the  page  of  the  paper  will  see 
this?  How  many  will  notice  this  one?"  [Show  him  one 
as  nearly  as  possible  like  his  own.]  "One  in  ten. 

"You  can  see  right  from  the  start  the  importance  of  at- 
tention, because  no  one  will  read  your  ad  unless  you  get 
their  attention.  So  we  give  attention  70  per  cent  of  the 
value  of  an  ad. 

"The  most  important  thing  about  the  ad  then  is  to  get 
attention.  The  type  is  as  common  as  the  tick  of  a  clock, 
so  are  stock  cuts  and  statements  about  better  goods  for 
less  money.  People,  however,  like  to  look  at  pictures, 
and  when  you  show  a  picture  you  can  not  only  get  atten- 
tion with  it,  but  carry  home  the  idea  of  what  you  are  talk- 
ing about  and  thus  lead  them  to  read  the  ad  besides. 
[Use  any  number  of  illustrations  such  as  Hart,  Shaffner 
&  Marx,  some  from  the  Saturday  Evening  Post,  or  any 
other  magazine,  to  impress  it  upon  his  mind  throughly.] 

"The  next  point  to  take  into  consideration  is  to  impress 
the  man  you  are  talking  to,  for  the  ad  is  nothing  more  or 
less  than  your  salesman  talking  about  your  business.  To 
make  this  point  clear  to  you,  I  will  ask  you  why  it  is  that 
people  are  spending  four  times  as  much  for  their  living 


240  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

now  as  they  were  twenty  years  ago?  Why  do  you  pay 
$3.00  for  a  hat  instead  of  50  cents  or  $30  for  a  suit  of 
clothes  instead  of  $3.00?  It  is  all  due  to  one  thing,  pride 
which  is  the  strongest  element  in  all  humanity. 

"Then  comes  need  or  comfort,  and  then  price.  We 
give  each  of  these  points  10  per  cent  and  any  advertise- 
ment which  covers  all  of  them  fully  is  100  per  cent  ad. 
Now  with  this  information  which  I  have  given  you, 
please  read  this  ad  and  see  how  well  it  covers  it.  Every 
point  is  taken  care  of.  [Read  ad  from  samples  or 
paper.] 

"You  are  not  simply  filling  a  demand  when  you  adver- 
tise in  this  way;  you  are  creating  one.  That  is  the  dif- 
ference between  a  merchant  and  a  storekeeper.  The 
grocer  doesn't  have  to  create  a  demand  for  sugar. 
Everybody  needs  it  and  buys  it.  Sugar  is  pretty  much 
the  same  the  world  over,  however,  and  he  doesn't  make 
much  money  on  it.  Neither  will  the  storekeeper  who  is 
simply  filling  a  demand  make  much.  The  merchant  who 
is  creating  one,  who  is  appealing  to  the  pride  of  people, 
to  their  needs  and  comfort  as  well  as  their  pocketbook, 
is  the  one  who  is  successful  in  this  day  and  age. 

"Now  then,  an  experienced  advertising  man  requires 
from  a  half-day  to  a  day  to  write  one  ad.  I  realize  you 
are  a  pretty  busy  man  to  devote  this  time  to  it.  If  I 
spent  a  month  here  and  told  you  all  I  know  about  ad- 
vertising you  still  couldn't  give  the  necessary  attention 
to  this  part  of  your  business  and  I  know  that  like  other 
wideawake  merchants  you  realize  the  force  of  adver- 
tising and  want  to  do  it  in  the  right  way,  but  you  haven't 
been  able  to. 

"Now  I  propose  to  furnish  you  an  ad  like  this  one 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  241 

every  week.  Besides,  I  am  going  to  give  you  the  pic- 
ture that  goes  with  it,  an  illustration  that  has  been  built 
to  order  for  it .  Not  only  this  but  I  am  going  to  give 
you  the  plate,  so  that  you  can  reproduce  it  right  in  the 
paper.  This  plate  alone  would  cost  several  times  what 
I  am  going  to  ask  you  for  the  whole  business  if  I  made 
you  a  present  of  the  ads  and  the  drawings  and  you  had 
to  get  the  plate  made. 

"Banks  use  Dun's  and  Bradstreet's.  It  would  cost 
a  million  dollars  to  get  up  the  information  there  is  in  this 
book,  but  by  every  bank  in  the  country  using  it  and  a 
large  number  of  business  institutions  it  is  syndicated  to 
them  for  $75  a  year.  The  physician  who  calls  on  a  sick 
member  of  your  family  probably  spent  from  $5,000  to 
$10,000  to  acquire  the  information  he  makes  use  of  in  his 
visit.  However,  by  everybody  in  town  using  his  services 
he  will  give  you  the  advantage  of  his  ability  for  a  dollar 
or  two  a  trip. 

"We  have  placed  scientific  advertising  on  the  same 
basis  and  will  furnish  you  your  year's  advertising  for 
$1.00  a  week.  To  show  you  the  confidence  we  have  in 
our  proposition  I  don't  ask  a  cent  from  you  today  or  any 
when  the  year's  service  is  delivered.  We  will  simply  go 
through  this  book,  pick  out  the  ads  you  want,  to  con- 
form to  local  conditions,  the  goods  you  carry  in  stock, 
etc.,  ship  you  the  whole  year's  service  at  once  and  you 
have  a  year  to  pay  for  it  in,  paying  for  it  by  Jthe  month, 
or  we  will  allow  you  a  discount  of  5%  if  you  prefer  to 
do  business  on  a  cash  basis." 

This  is  only  an  outline  of  the  introductory  talk.  You 
can  vary  it,  of  course,  by  referring  to  the  different  ad- 
vertisements, by  telling  him  about  different  advertising 

I.B.L.  Vol.  2—16 


242  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

successes  and  by  bringing  in  the  names  of  different  mer- 
chants with  whom  you  have  done  business,  what  they  said 
about  it,  etc. ;  also  showing  him  some  of  the  testimonial 
letters  you  have  and  referring  to  the  names  of  merchants 
with  whom  you  have  done  business,  in  an  off-hand  man- 
ner. 

You  should  very  soon  have  letters  of  your  own  from 
merchants.  After  you  have  sold  a  man  ask  him  to  write 
to  you  and  let  you  know  how  he  liked  the  service  and 
give  him  the  impression  in  every  way  that  your  personal 
interest  does  not  cease  with  the  signing  of  the  order. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 
By  C.  E.  Zimmerman. 

PART  2. 

Now  comes  the  part  which  tells  the  story  in  every  sale, 
the  closing.  When  you  get  a  man  down  to  this  point 
many  of  them  will  make  some  excuses.  There  isn't  one 
man  out  of  a  hundred  who  sees  our  proposition  but  what 
will  admit  it  is  a  good  thing,  and  with  the  following  ar- 
guments any  intelligent  man  ought  to  close  a  man  who 
will  make  this  admission. 

1.  To  the  customer  who  says  that  he  has  been  in  busi- 
ness for  twenty  years  and  does  not  need  to  advertise: 
[This  is  one  of  the  nastiest  objections  that  any  salesman 
ever  encountered  and  here  is  the  neatest  answer  for  it.] 

First  give  him  a  strong  talk  on  the  difference  between 
filling  a  demand  and  creating  one,  then  say  to  him: 
"Now,  Mr.  Merchant,  haven't  you  a  Methodist  church 
and  a  good  Methodist  preacher?  Doesn't  everybody  in 
town  know  him  as  well  as  they  know  you?  Like  him 
as  well  as  they  like  you?  Believe  in  religion  as  thor- 
oughly as  they  believe  in  furniture?  Doesn't  this  minis- 
ter have  a  revival  here  every  winter?  How  many  con- 
versions does  he  have — a  dozen  or  fifteen  or  twenty? 
Well,  how  many  does  Billy  Sunday  or  Gipsy  Smith 

243 


244  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

have?  They  run  into  the  hundreds  and  thousands.  They 
are  not  known,  but  they  are  scientific  and  are  experts 
in  their  line.  Just  as  they  can  get  ten  times  the  result 
your  preacher  can  so  can  we  get  ten  times  the  results 
you  can  get  in  advertising.  It  is  the  same  proposition." 
The  most  important  thing  in  answering  an  objection 
is  not  to  wait  for  him  to  spring  another  one.  Nine  times 
out  of  ten  it  wasn't  an  objection  but  simply  an  excuse. 
And  if  you  wait  for  him  to  spring  another,  then  the  sell- 
ing talk  degenerates  into  an  argument.  Follow  up  any 
objection  you  meet  with  two  or  three  more  strong  points 
and  then  try  to  close  him.  If  you  cannot  don't  let  him 
say  "No"  but  keep  on  going. 


2.  Here  is  a  good  point  on  the  furniture  service  when 
the  man  is  undecided : 

"Furniture  is  a  luxury.  You  must  create  a  demand 
for  it  if  you  want  to  do  the  right  kind  of  a  furniture 
business.  We  realize  this  and  concentrate  upon  this 
point  in  our  furniture  advertising.  We  take  into  con- 
sideration that  a  woman  is  responsible  for  the  new  furni- 
ture that  goes  into  a  home.  When  one  woman  sees  an- 
other with  a  new  hat  she  wants  one  too,  and  this  is  so 
true  that  it  has  become  the  custom  for  them  to  all  get  new 
hats  every  spring.  When  a  woman  sees  a  nice  home 
or  a  nice  room  she  has  a  desire  for  one  too,  even  if  she  is 
living  in  a  hovel.  For  this  reason  we  show  interiors.  I 
don't  mean  to  say  that  as  soon  as  a  woman  sees  one  of 
these  illustrations  she  is  going  to  come  into  your  store 
and  buy  furniture,  but  the  desire  is  there  and  you  only 
want  to  make  this  strong  enough  to  get  her  to  buy.  To 
sustain  the  interest  we  alternate  these  illustrations  with 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  245 

advertisements  of  the  Old  Cabinetmaker."  [Take  one 
of  the  Old  Cabinetmaker  ads  and  put  your  hand  over  the 
Old  Cabinetmaker.]  "When  I  cover  up  the  Old  Cabi- 
netmaker you  see  a  cut  of  a  kitchen  cabinet.  It  is  a 
good  cut,  but  you  realize  by  this  time  that  no  matter  how 
well  this  ad  is  written  you  wouldn't  pay  much  attention 
to  it  in  a  paper.  Now  I  take  my  hand  off  the  Old 
Cabinetmaker.  You  would  look  at  it  now.  You  would 
say  to  yourself  unconsciously,  'What  is  the  old  cabinet- 
maker doing?  Why  is  he  standing  there?  What  does 
he  say?' 

"Now  I  will  tell  you  how  to  make  your  newspaper  ad- 
vertising and  your  window  advertising,  almost  as  im- 
portant, strengthen  and  support  each  other.  When  you 
get  this  service  borrow  or  rent  a  clothing  dummy  from 
your  clothing  man.  Dress  him  up  like  the  Old  Cabi- 
netmaker and  the  week  you  run  your  kitchen  cabinet 
ad  put  him  in  the  window  with  a  kitchen  cabinet.  You 
might  put  up  a  placard  which  says,  'Look  in  the  paper 
this  week  and  see  what  the  Old  Cabinetmaker  says.' 
In  many  towns  where  this  has  been  done  everybody  in 
town  has  been  talking  about  it  and  looking  to  see  what 
would  come  out  next  week. 


3.  To  the  banker  who  says  they  run  their  card  in  the 
paper,  that  everybody  knows  them  in  town  and  if  they 
want  to  put  money  in  their  bank  they  will  do  so : 

"Mr.  Banker,  your  ad  reads  as  follows:  'First  National 
Bank.  3  per  cent  on  savings.  John  John,  Cashier,  Jim 
Brown,  Pres.,  etc.  Capital  so  much,  undivided  profits 
so  much,  etc.'  Is  there  anything  about  this  to  make  any- 
body want  to  put  money  in  your  bank?  In  the  first 


246  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

place  I  can  go  out  on  the  street  and  take  any  boy  by  the 
arm  and  ask  him  who  is  the  president  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank,  and  he  will  tell  me,  Jim  Brown.  Then  I 
can  go  on  down  the  street  and  ask  ten  men  what  the  sur- 
plus of  a  bank  is,  what  the  undivided  profits  are,  etc.,  and 
the  man  without  a  bank  account,  the  man  you  are  trying 
to  reach,  cannot  tell  me.  The  business  man  who  has  his 
money  in  the  bank  knows,  but  he  has  his  money  there  for 
business  reasons,  so  you  have  nothing  to  gain  from  him 
by  printing  these  statements.  He  knows  all  about  them. 
The  man  you  want  to  reach,  the  man  without  a  bank  ac- 
count, must  be  shown  the  need  of  one.  You  must  ap- 
peal not  only  to  need  but  pride.  If  you  get  his  attention 
and  do  this  you  can  in  time  make  his  desire  strong  enough 
to  produce  the  desired  effect." 


4.  To  the  man  who  says  he  is  too  busy  to  talk  to  you : 
"I  like  to  meet  a  busy  man,  for  I  can  save  one  day  of 
your  time  every  week.  The  busier  you  are  the  more 
wideawake  you  will  be  to  this  saving  of  your  time. 
Wouldn't  you  like  to  have  an  extra  day  every  week  to 
spend  with  your  family  or  in  some  kind  of  recreation? 
I  can  not  only  do  this  for  you,  but  save  you  some  money 
besides.  I  want  ten  minutes  of  your  time  to  show  you 
how:" 


5.     Another  answer  to  the  same  thing: 

Suppose  you  are  talking  to  a  shoe  man.  Say,  "All 
right,  Mr.  Jones.  Have  you  time  to  sell  me  a  pair  of 
shoes?"  Allow  him  to  take  off  one  of  your  shoes  and 
look  at  the  size.  "I  don't  want  to  buy  a  pair  of  shoes, 
but  simply  to  demonstrate  that  you  would  be  interested 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  247 

in  my  proposition,  for  it  will  sell  not  only  one  pair  of 
shoes  but  a  hundred.  You  would  try  for  half  an  hour 
to  fit  my  feet  with  a  pair  of  shoes  on  which  you  would 
make  only  50  cents  profit,  provided  I  wanted  a  cheap 
pair,  but  when  I  come  here  to  sell  you  something  which 
will  sell  you  hundreds  of  pairs  of  shoes  and  save  you  time 
besides,  you  tell  me  you  are  too  busy.  Now,  Mr.  Jones, 
don't  think  I  am  impudent.  I  will  admit  that  I  am  inde- 
pendent, but  I  can  afford  to  be.  I  can  do  business  nine 
times  out  of  ten  with  people  who  understand  what  I 
have  and  as  I  only  sell  one  line  in  a  town  I  hope  you 
will  not  think  I  am  impertinent,  but  I  will  admit  I  am 
independent." 


6.  To  the  Banker  who  gives  you  a  story  like  the  fol- 
lowing: "We  have  to  advertise  in  lodge  programs, 
high  school  programs,  and  other  mediums  like  this,  which 
takes  up  all  the  money  we  can  afford  to  spend  for  adver- 
tising." 

"Mr.  Banker,  I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  a  mis- 
take you  are  making.  You  are  putting  that  item  in  the 
wrong  column.  You  should  charge  that  to  profit  and 
loss,  or  charity,  and  not  to  advertising.  You  might  just 
as  well  charge  it  to  your  payroll  or  to  your  light  and 
heat.  Advertising  is  just  as  necessary  to  the  success 
of  your  business  as  heat  is  to  the  comfort  of  this  room. 
And  you  don't  suffer  from  the  cold  because  you  spend 
the  money  for  donations  that  you  ought  to  spend  for 
coal.  I  want  to  tell  you,  though,  how  you  can  overcome 
this  expense.  When  some  lodge  member  calls  on  you 
for  your  'donation'  they  always  send  one  who  is  friendly 
with  your  bank  and  one  to  the  other  bank  who  is  friendly 


248  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

with  them.  You  all  donate  and  don't  get  much  for  it. 
Simply  say  to  the  solicitor,  'No,  if  I  went  into  your  pro- 
gram I  would  have  to  go  in  every  other  one.  It  doesn't 
do  us  much  good,  and  while  I  don't  mind  donating  to 
you  I  can't  in  the  interest  of  my  stockholders  and  deposi- 
tors spend  money  in  this  way.  Here,  I  will  take  a 
couple  of  tickets  from  you,  to  show  you  my  heart  is  in 
the  right  place.'  Then  use  the  tickets  yourself  or  give 
them  to  one  of  your  employees  and  charge  it  up  to 
donations  or  profit  and  loss,  where  it  rightly  belongs." 


7.  To  the  man  who  has  used  a  cut  service  and  says 
it  didn't  pay : 

"There  is  the  same  difference  between  a  cut  service 
and  our  proposition  that  there  would  be  between  the 
dirty,  unshaven,  poorly  dressed  salesman  and  the  man 
with  a  spick-and-span  new  outfit  and  a  pleasing  per- 
sonality. If  you  had  hired  a  man  with  a  wrinkled  suit  of 
clothes  and  a  dirty  collar  to  work  in  your  store  and  he 
didn't  sell  enough  goods  to  pay  his  salary,  you  would 
hardly  turn  down  a  real  salesman  when  he  came  along 
on  that  account." 


8.  To  the  merchant  who  says  that  a  clerk  writes  his 
ads: 

"If  you  have  a  carpenter  working  for  you  you  want 
to  see  that  he  has  good  tools.  Our  service  contains  the 
best  tools  of  the  advertising  trade  today.  Give  your 
man  tools  to  work  with.  He  will  be  glad  to  use  them. 
Your  clerk  isn't  any  $10,000  advertising  man.  He  has 
to  buy  his  stock  cuts  or  procure  them  in  some  way.  It 
isn't  a  question  of  what  you  spend  but  what  you  get.  If 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  249 

you  are  paying  this  man  $15  a  week  and  get  double  the 
results  from  your  advertising  by  this  service,  you  are 
making  a  $30  man  out  of  him  by  spending  only  $1  a  week 


more." 


9.  To  the  man  who  admits  that  our  service  is  the  best 
he  has  ever  seen,  but  that  he  is  already  using  a  cut  serv- 
ice and  his  contract  does  not  expire  for  six  months: 

First  get  him  to  admit  that  advertising  is  his  best 
salesman.  Then  get  him  to  admit  that  our  service  is  at 
least  twice  as  good  as  the  other,  that  it  will  secure  twice 
the  orders;  appeal  twice  as  strongly  to  pride,  need,  etc. 
"Now,  Mr.  Merchant,  suppose  for  an  instant  that  you 
had  a  salesman  working  in  your  store  and  another  man 
would  come  along  who  could  sell  twice  as  many  goods 
and  impress  the  people  a  lot  more  favorably  that  he  did 
sell.  This  second  man  would  come  along  and  want  a  job, 
but  you  would  say,  'No,  I  have  already  contracted  for 
another  man  for  six  months.  Come  around  then  and  I 
will  talk  business.  You  know  that  no  good  man  is  going 
to  wait  six  months  and  call  on  you  again  if  he  was  going 
to  work  for  $1.  Neither  can  we.  What  would  you  do 
if  the  good  salesman  would  tell  you  he  would  only  cost 
you  $1  a  week  more  for  all  this  period  of  time  than  the 
poor  salesman  and  that  he  would  work  for  $1  a  week 
after  that  time  was  up? 

"If  I  came  into  your  drygoods  store  and  was  an  ex- 
pert on  silks  alone  you  would  gladly  pay  me  $1  a  week  to 
assist  in  your  silk  department,  to  help  you  with  your 
buying  and  wait  on  your  customers  and  tell  them  about 
silk.  Now  this  advertising  man  is  only  going  to  cost  you 


250  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

$1  a  week  and  it  takes  in  all  the  advertising  in  your 
business. 

"Right  here  I  want  to  make  a  point  and  show  you  the 
advantage  that  newspaper  salesmanship  has  over  an- 
other salesman.  When  I  tried  to  sell  you  this  service, 
you  brought  up  every  conceivable  objection.  If  it 
was  something  you  happened  to  hear  about,  if  you  had 
simply  met  one  of  those  merchants  whose  testimonial 
letters  I  have  shown  you  and  he  had  told  you  about  our 
service,  you  would  write  for  it  in  a  minute.  If  some- 
body would  tell  you  that  you  could  get  Mr.  Zimmer- 
man to  write  your  ads  for  $1  a  week  you  would  jump 
at  the  chance  and  no  doubt  go  to  the  expense  of  having 
your  designs  made.  Still  it  is  only  human  nature  for 
you  to  try  and  find  an  excuse.  Don't  let  this  character- 
istic keep  you  from  a  good  thing  any  longer." 

At  a  point  like  this  let  him  see  his  local  newspaper, 
in  which  you  have  blue-penciled  his  ad,  also  in  which 
one  of  his  competitor's  ad  is  blue-penciled.  He  under- 
stands you  only  do  business  with  one  man  in  a  town 
and  this  will  impress  him  a  whole  lot  more  with  the  fact 
that  the  other  man  is  going  to  have  a  chance  at  it  if  he 
doesn't  take  it  than  of  .you  told  him  so. 


10.  To  the  merchant  who  objects  to  our  copyright 
sign  appearing  on  the  ads: 

"I  can  readily  understand  your  idea  that  you  might 
think  this  did  away  with  the  individuality  of  your  ad. 
However,  you  have  never  posed  before  the  people  of 
this  town  as  an  advertising  man.  You  wouldn't  be 
ashamed  to  have  the  best  window  decorator  in  Chicago 
dress  your  windows.  You  would  take  pride  in  it.  You 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  251 

wouldn't  be  ashamed  to  have  the  best  silk  salesman  in 
Chicago  in  your  silk  department.  Why  should  you  be 
ashamed  to  have  one  of  their  best  advertising  men 
write  your  ads  and  illustrate  them?  This  copyright  is  on 
the  ad  for  your  protection,  not  because  we  want  it.  We 
give  you  the  exclusive  use  of  this  service  in  this  town 
and  this  prevents  any  one  else  from  cutting  in  on  you." 


11.  Another  answer  to  the  price  objection: 
"It  costs  $2  to  get  on  a  train  and  go  from  here  to 
[mention  some  town  the  proper  distance  away]  and  it 
takes  two  hours.  It  costs  nothing  to  walk  and  it  takes 
about  three  days.  The  man  who  walks  can  jingle  $2 
in  his  pocket  and  say  to  himself:  'Well,  I  have  saved 
$2  that  I  might  have  thrown  away  on  railroad  fare/ 
The  man  who  does  not  'buy  our  service  can  look  over 
hu  books  at  the  end  of  the  year  and  say:  'I  might  have 
thrown  away  $52  on  advertising,  but  I  didn't.'  Do  you 
think  it  pays  to  walk?" 


12.  A  pointer  for  the  merchant  who  advertises  prices : 
"As  I  told  you,  price  talk  is  almost  as  monotonous 
as  the  tick  of  a  clock.  The  word  bargain  is  a  stimulant. 
When  a  normal  man  takes  a  drink  of  alcohol  it  stimulates 
him.  However,  if  he  keeps  it  up  regularly  it  soon  pro- 
duces a  weakening  instead  of  strengthening  effect.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  bargain  stimulant  to  business. 

"You  know  the  story  of  the  foolish  lad  who  would 
go  out  every  day  and  cry  'Wolf!  Wolf!'  Soon  no  one 
paid  any  attention  to  him  and  when  the  wolf  did  come 
no  one  listened  to  his  cry  of  real  distress.  If  a  merchant 


252  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

cries  'Bargains!  Bargains!'  all  the  time  no  one  believes 
him,  even  when  he  has  bargains." 


13.  We  occasionally  accept  a  six-months'  contract 
and  here  is  something  that  will  enable  you  to  change  this 
to  a  yearly  contract:  [Give  him  this  after  first  getting 
the  six-months'  contract  signed.] 

"Now,  Mr.  Blank,  what  would  you  think  of  a  farmer 
who  would  cultivate  his  corn  once  a  month  ?  It  wouldn't 
grow  very  well,  no  matter  how  fertile  the  ground  was, 
and  the  weeds  would  choke  it  to  death.  Public  opinion 
is  your  crop.  How  can  you  expect  it  to  grow  if  you 
don't  cultivate  it  with  advertising  and  what  good  is  that 
going  to  do  if  you 'only  cultivate  it  once  a  month? 

"When  you  are  sick  the  doctor  gives  you  medicine 
every  hour  or  so.  Suppose  you  took  this  medicine  one 
day  a  week,  or  once  a  day.  What  doctor  do  you  think 
could  cure  you  under  such  conditions? 

"If  you  have  ever  read  the  description  of  a  prize- 
fight you  know  that  one  blow  does  not  win  a  battle.  A 
fighter  strikes  the  other  in  the  eye  and  partially  closes 
it.  While  this  hurts,  the  next  blow  in  the  same  place 
hurts  ten  times  as  badly.  The  third  one  makes  it  worse, 
until  the  final  wallop  which  results  in  the  knockout. 
Even  a  blow  every  round  or  so  wouldn't  make  very 
much  difference.  It  is  the  hammer,  hammer,  hammer, 
that  wins. 

"A  chain  is  no  stronger  than  its  weakest  link.  Your 
advertising  every  week  is  the  chain  of  your  year's  busi- 
ness. If  you  leave  some  of  these  links  out  or  have  some 
weak  ones  in,  it  isn't  going  to  have  the  force  that  it  will 
if  they  are  all  strong." 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SEEVICE.          .  258 

14.     Another  answer  to  "Can't  afford  it:" 

This  simply  shows  that  you  have  not  impressed  him 
with  the  money  our  service  will  make  him,  or  that  he 
has  been  thinking  about  $52  instead  of  what  you  have 
been  saying. 

"You  can  afford  anything,  Mr.  Merchant,  that  pays 
a  good  profit.  You  carry  any  kind  of  goods  in  your  line 
that  sell  and  that  you  can  make  a  good  profit  on.  Now 
if  I  were  in  here  trying  to  sell  you  something  new  in 
your  line  and  could  show  you  how  thousands  of  other 
merchants  had  already  sold  these  goods  this  year  and 
were  making  money  on  them,  you  wouldn't  say  without 
any  more  interest,  *I  cannot  afford  to  carry  them.'  When 
I  can  show  you  letters  like  these  from  other  merchants 
there  must  be  something  to  my  proposition,  and  with 
the  best  interests  of  your  business  in  view,  you  cannot 
turn  it  down  until  you  give  it  a  fair,  unprejudiced 
hearing." 

The  point  that  you  want  to  stick  out  throughout  your 
entire  argument  is  that  our  proposition  is  not  an  expense, 
but  a  profitable  investment;  that  he  is  losing  money  in 
all  the  different  ways  already  enumerated  every  week 
he  is  not  using  it. 


15.     When  a  customer  is  silent: 

Most  salesmen  find  the  hardest  man  to  sell  the  man 
who  won't  say  anything  except  "No"  when  you  get 
through  talking  with  him.  If  you  can  get  this  sort  of  a 
man  talking,  you  can  usually  do  business. 

"Mr.  Merchant,  I  see  that  I  haven't  presented  my 
proposition  so  that  you  are  properly  interested.  Now  I 
want  to  ask  you  a  favor  and  give  me  your  idea  of  ad- 


254  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

vertising  a  business  like  yours.  We  come  in  contact  with 
hundreds,  yes,  thousands,  of  merchants  and  we  learn  a 
great  deal  from  them ;  in  fact,  most  of  our  pointers  come 
from  progressive  people  in  your  line  of  business.  No 
doubt  you  can  tell  me  lots  of  things  that  it  would  be  Lo 
my  interest  to  know  and  I  might  possibly  suggest  some- 
thing from  time  to  time  that  would  be  of  interest  and 
value  to  you." 


16.  To  the  customer  who  says  he  does  not  need  it: 
"I  will  agree  with  you  that  you  do  not  need  our 

services.  If  you  are  willing  to  spend  a  day  every  week 
writing  your  ads,  to  pay  an  artist  $30  or  $40  a  week,  or 
even  $20,  to  draw  your  designs  and  to  go  over  to  your 
newspaper  office  and  see  that  your  ad  is  properly  dis- 
played when  it  is  set  up,  then  you  can  get  along  without 
it  pretty  well.  This  is  the  only  way  you  can  get  along 
without  it,  however,  and  do  the  same  amount  of  good. 
But  it  isn't  good  business  when  you  can  get  my  propo- 
sition for  $1  a  week" 

17.  To  the  merchant  or  banker  when  you  see  a  cal- 
endar or  novelty  hanging  up  in  their  place  of  business, 
or  they  state  they  are  spending  their  money  for  cal- 
endars : 

"Calendars  are  an  excellent  thing  and  I  do  not  want 
to  be  put  for  an  instant  in  the  light  of  insinuating  that 
they  are  not.  I  want  to  tell  you,  though,  about  some 
bankers  in  a  little  town  in  Wisconsin  where  there  are 
three  banks.  When  these  banks  bought  their  calendars 
this  year  they  got  together  and  all  bought  the  same 
calendar.  Why?  Because,  like  every  other  town,  people 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  255 

would  go  from  one  to  the  other  and  get  a  calendar  from 
each  place.  The  average  person  in  a  town  of  this  size 
collects  ten  or  twelve  calendars  every  year.  They  don't 
need  this  many.  They  keep  one,  usually  the  one  with  a 
pretty  picture  on  it.  Yours  has  about  an  even  chance 
with  the  rest  of  them.  I  am  going  to  say  for  the  sake 
of  argument  that  your  calendar  costs  10  cents,  and  you 
know  that  is  putting  it  pretty  low.  In  other  words,  it 
costs  $1  to  have  one  of  these  calendars  hanging  in  the 
home  of  some  prospective  customer  for  a  year.  With 
one  of  our  ads  you  can  reach  1,000  people,  and  make 
them  think  in  your  favor  for  the  same  amount  of  money. 
I  will  leave  it  to  you  which  is  the  better  investment.  Is 
it  better  to  reach  52,000  people  in  a  year  through  the 
newspaper,  have  them  read  your  ad  over  and  over  again 
every  week,  or  have  52  calendars  hanging  in  52  homes? 
Is  there  anything  about  that  calendar  to  make  any- 
body want  to  put  money  in  the  bank,  even  when  it  is 
there?" 


18.  Another  one  to  the  man  who  "has  been  in  busi- 
ness twenty  years"  and  has  been  successful: 

"What  you  say  is  true,  but  were  you  always  subject 
to  the  competition  you  are  today?  Did  you  always  sell 
your  goods  on  such  a  close  margin  of  profit?  The  world 
is  moving  and  you  must  either  climb  into  the  band- 
wagon or  stand  aside  and  watch  the  procession  go  by. 
Your  customers  are  only  human  and  they  like  to  do 
business  with  an  up-to-date  institution." 


19.     "I  can  do  without  it." 
'Of  course  you  can,  Mr.  Merchant.    You  could  get 


256  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

along  without  the  best  salesmen  clerking  in  your  store, 
but  it  would  not  be  good  business  to  do  so.  You  pay  every 
one  of  these  people  a  salary.  You  don't  let  people  come 
in  and  wait  on  themselves.  Still  you  don't  want  to  pay 
your  best  salesman,  your  advertising,  this  small  salary 
for  waiting  on  your  people.  Customers  must  be  in- 
vited to  your  store,  because  they  are  invited  to  lots  of 
other  places  and  they  are  getting  more  sensitive  every 
day  where  they  go.  We  could  still  get  along  with  kero- 
sene lamps  if  we  wanted  to.  People  used  them  at  one 
time  and  were  happy.  You  could  get  along  without  a 
cash  register,  without  those  big  plate-glass  windows  you 
have,  without  the  system  of  lighting  you  have,  but  you 
want  to  be  up-to-date  and  the  only  reason  you  are  not 
up-to-date  in  your  advertising  is  because  you  haven't 
been  able  to  in  the  past.  Now  that  the  matter  is  pre- 
sented, you  are  going  to  come  to  the  right  kind  of  ad- 
vertising sooner  or  later,  and  the  sooner  you  do  it  the 
more  money  you  will  make  out  of  it. 


20.     "Business  is  dull." 

"When  business  is  dull  don't  you  still  have  enough 
clerks  to  wait  on  your  customers?  Isn't  it  all  the  more 
important  at  this  time  that  they  should  be  properly  taken 
care  of?  Then  are  you  going  to  turn  off  your  best  sales- 
man, the  salesman  who  can  talk  to  more  people  than  all 
the  rest  of  your  clerks  put  together,  simply  because  busi- 
ness is  dull? 

"A  dull  season  never  lasts  long  and  if  you  are  ad- 
vertising now  it  is  simply  like  the  farmer  who  cultivates 
his  field  to  get  a  big  crop  when  the  harvest  comes." 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  257 

21.  "I  write  my  own  ads.  I  know  more  about  my 
business  than  you  do." 

"The  same  principles  that  apply  to  your  store,  as 
far  as  advertising  goes,  apply  to  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
of  Chicago,  or  John  Jones  in  Podunk.  We  don't  pre- 
tend to  run  your  business,  but  we  simply  take  the  detail 
and  the  hard  work  of  writing  the  ads  off  your  hands. 
Your  buying,  the  management  of  your  clerks,  and  a 
thousand  and  one  other  things  require  your  constant 
supervision.  Our  service  enables  you  to  devote  the  valu- 
able time  you  spend  trying  to  write  your  ads  to  these 
other  important  features  of  your  business." 


22.  "I  will  take  it  up  in  the  future." 
"Mr.  Merchant,  you  will  never  buy  this  service  until 
you  are  satisfied  it  will  make  you  money?  Unless  you 
are  convinced  of  this  fact  I  want  to  show  you  right  now. 
If  it  will  make  you  money,  every  week  you  put  it  off 
you  are  losing  something.  If  this  service  is  worth  any- 
thing to  you,  it  is  worth  it  right  now  and  any  delay  means 
loss." 


I.B.L.  Vol. 


"Tho  great  secret  of  success  in  life  is  to  be  ready  when 
the  opportunity  comes." — Gould. 


"There  is  a  past  which  is  gone  forever,  but  there  is  a 
future  which  is  still  our  own." — Robertson. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 
By  C.  E.  Zimmerman. 

PART  3. 
Be  Impressive. 

Four  object  in  talking  to  a  merchant  is  to  interest 
him  in  an  advertising  system  for  his  store.  He  must  not 
listen  out  of  courtesy,  but  must  be  so  impressed  by  your 
statements  that  he  feels  he  is  losing  business  every  week 
he  is  not  using  our  service.  You  lose  time  in  talking 
to  a  man  who  is  swapping  stories  with  you,  or  who  is 
simply  curious.  You  can  go  out  on  the  street  corner 
and  collect  a  crowd  around  you  if  you  simply  want  some- 
body to  talk  to,  but  the  man  whom  you  sell  is  the  one 
you  impress  from  the  start  and  who  realizes  that  he  is 
getting  knowledge  and  information  from  you. 

About  Easy  Sales. 

Sometimes  a  merchant  will  say  in  a  few  minutes  that 
he  will  take  your  proposition,  but  remember  that  your 
duty  is  not  done  until  you  have  impressed  him  fully 
with  all  of  the  different  points  and  the  importance  of 
using  the  service  regularly.  Many  a  man,  if  he  likes 
your  personality,  will  give  you  his  order  and  then  let 
the  service  lie  under  the  counter.  This  isn't  the  kind 
of  business  we  want,  for  it  doesn't  mean  any  future  for 
you  or  for  us. 

259 


260  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

The  Long  and  Short  of  It. 

The  man  not  using  our  service  is  losing  money.  The 
only  reason  he  does  not  buy  is  that  he  does  not  know  it. 
The  minute  you  show  him  he  is  yours. 

"You  are  now  paying  this  price  several  times  over, 
although  you  do  not  get  anything  for  it. 

"You  are  paying  this  price  in  the  goods  which  you 
should  have  sold  and  have  not. 

"You  are  paying  this  price  many  times  over  in  the 
business  that  goes  to  some  one  else. 

"You  are  paying  it  again  in  the  time  which  you  spend 
trying  to  write  your  own  ads. 

"You  are  paying  someone,  maybe,  this  much  in  stock 
cuts  which  do  not  fit  your  advertising. 

"Now  what  I  want  to  know  is,  are  you  interested  in 
having  me  stop  all  of  this  expense  for  you  with  a  single 
dollar  a  week — when  you  get  this  dollar  before  you 
pay  it." 


Be  Positive. 

Make  your  statement  that  a  fact  is  so-and-so,  and  not 
that  it  is  not  so-and-so.  Do  not  talk  as  if  you  were  try- 
ing to  prove  that  you  are  not  a  liar,  but  make  your 
statements  sound  as  if  they  were  the  truth.  The  minute 
you  seem  to  have  to  insist  that  such  a  thing  is  a  fact,  you 
invite  your  customer  to  question  it. 

Always  let  your  voice  fall  at  the  end  of  a  sentence. 
If  you  raise  your  voice  at  the  close  of  a  sentence  your 
statement  does  not  seem  nearly  so  positive.  Simply  try 
this  a  few  times  in  saying  something  aloud  to  yourself 
and  you  will  readily  appreciate  the  importance  of  it. 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  261 

And  don't  cheat  yourself  at  any  time  with  that  ex- 
cuse of  quitters  that  some  men  are  too  hard  to  sell.  There 
is  always  a  way  to  accomplish  anything  that  ought  to 
be  accomplished.  If  you  know  that  our  service  will 
make  money  for  a  man  you  ought  to  find  the  way. 
Don't  say,  "He  is  too  hard  for  me,  I  can't  sell  him."  If 
he  needs  our  service,  make  up  your  mind  that  he  is  go- 
ing to  get  it.  Find  out  in  what  way  he  can  be  approached. 
Get  his  attention.  In  most  cases  of  this  kind  you  will 
find  that  your  trouble  is  not  in  being  unable  to  convince 
the  man,  but  in  being  unable  to  get  his  attention. 

You  certainly  have  every  argument  in  the  world  on 
your  side  if  you  will  only  present  them.  Most  salesmen 
either  make  up  their  minds  when  they  begin  to  talk  that 
this  one  is  "a  cinch"  or  "There  is  nothing  doing  here." 
What  you  should  say  is,  "This  man  may  be  a  hard  one, 
but  there  is  some  way  to  get  him  and  I  am  going  to  use 
my  head  and  ability  until  I  do  it." 

An  Occasional  Introduction. 

Sometimes  you  can  use  this  to  advantage  in  an  in- 
troduction : 

"Mr.  Merchant,  let  me  explain  to  you  the  reason 
for  the  C.  E.  Zimmerman  syndicate  department.  I  be- 
lieve it  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  success  of  your 
business  this  year.  This  service  was  the  outgrowth  of 
merchants'  desire  to  be  on  the  same  basis  as  the  big  de- 
partment stores  and  mail-order  houses,  the  result  of 
country  merchants'  outcry  against  the  disadvantage  they 
were  placed  at  owing  to  their  lack  of  scientific  advertis- 
ing. It  was  conceived  by  a  man  who  spent  his  early  years 
in  a  country  store  and  realized  this  need.  And  it  has 
been  developed  through  his  later  experience  in  adver- 


262  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

tising  and  the  suggestions  received  from  merchants  like 
yourself  who  have  lost  thousands  and  thousands  of  dol- 
lars in  business  owing  to  their  lack  of  facilities  for  proper 
advertising." 

Make  Your  Man  Understand. 

Remember  it  is  not  what  you  say  to  a  man ;  it  is  what 
you  make  him  understand.  If  he  knew  one-tenth  as 
much  about  this  proposition  as  you  do,  you  know  he 
would  jump  at  the  chance  to  buy  it.  So  all  you  need  to 
do  is  present  the  facts  so  that  he  comprehends  them. 
Make  your  statements  strong,  clear  and  to  the  point. 
Don't  dazzle  the  man  with  oratory  or  a  mass  of  mean- 
ingless talk.  Drive  every  point  home.  But  remember 
that  you  cannot  drive  any  man.  Look  him  in  the  eyes 
when  you  talk  and  his  expression  will  tell  you  what  to  do. 

Don't  feed  him  jokes.  You  are  selling  a  serious  prop- 
osition and  one  that  he  will  use  in  a  serious  way,  so  be 
earnest,  candid  and  stick  to  business. 

Above  all,  be  careful  not  to  make  a  statement  that 
the  man  does  not  understand.  You  can  tell  by  the  look 
on  his  face  whether  or  not  it  went  over  his  head,  and  if 
it  did  go  back  and  make  him  understand  it.  The  further 
along  you  go  without  doing  this  the  further  you  will 
get  away  from  him.  If  you  see  he  doesn't  agree  with 
what  you  say,  stick  until  he  does.  If  you  will  get  him 
to  agree  with  you  right  from  the  start  the  battle  is  half 
won,  and  the  further  you  go  with  any  line  of  argument 
where  he  doesn't  agree  the  more  work  you  have  to  do  un- 
til you  can  get  him  in  shape  to  do  business. 

Don't  try  to  impress  the  man  with  your  cleverness. 
You  detract  from  the  proposition  when  you  do,  and  the 
minute  you  begin  to  give  a  man  the  impression  that  you 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  263 

are  smart  he  begins  to  be  afraid  of  you.  However  bril- 
liant your  talk,  if  you  make  statements  which  the  man 
does  not  agree  with,  if  there  is  a  doubt  or  suspicion  that 
you  are  exaggerating,  even  if  he  does  not  know  exactly 
what  it  is  about,  you  are  losing  out. 

Never  let  him  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  he  is  losing 
money  in  four  ways  when  he  isn't  using  our  service :  The 
time  he  spends  in  writing  his  ads,  the  space  he  buys,  the 
business  that  goes  to  somebody  else  and  the  stock  cuts 
he  pays  for. 

Ask  him  whether  he  wouldn't  spend  15  cents  a  day 
to  stop  this  loss  and  expense.  But  you  must  make  him 
admit  that  the  loss  really  exists  before  you  can  expect 
him  to  pay  to  stop  it. 

Drive  Your  Points  Home. 

When  you  make  a  point  drive  it  home.  Don't  shift 
first  to  one  thing,  then  another.  If  you  make  a  point  and 
don't  make  it  clearly  and  convincingly,  it  is  harder  to 
do  it  over  again  than  to  do  it  in  the  first  place.  But 
after  you  have  talked  him  into  something,  don't  talk  him 
out  again.  Know  when  to  stop. 

Again  remember,  when  you  answer  an  objection 
don't  wait  for  him  to  spring  another.  Unless  you  have 
answered  it  in  a  way  that  will  get  his  order,  drive  home 
another  clincher  and  enough  others  to  nail  him. 

When  a  doctor  knows  what  ails  a  patient  he  doesn't 
have  much  trouble  in  taking  care  of  him,  and  when  you 
really  know  a  man's  objections  and  his  attitude  of  mind 
you  are  a  mighty  poor  salesman  if  you  cannot  get  the 
order. 

The  most  common  and  most  deadly  objection  is  the 
man  who  hasn't  the  authority  to  sign  an  order  and  hasn't 


264  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

the  nerve  to  admit  it.  This  may  be  true  of  a  bank  cash- 
ier more  often  than  any  one  else,  who  thinks  he  has  to 
put  it  up  to  the  board  of  directors.  Don't  feel  backward 
about  asking  him  if  this  is  true.  However,  suggest  at 
the  same  time  that  if  he  wanted  to  hire  a  boy  for  a  dol- 
lar a  week  to  sweep  out  the  bank  every  morning  he 
wouldn't  have  to  consult  the  directors,  and  he  is  hiring 
a  much  bigger  thing  here  on  the  same  basis. 

May  be  you  are  talking  to  one  person  in  a  business 
and  the  other  partner  writes  the  ads.  If  you  think  the 
customer  is  keeping  something,  back  from  you  say  to 
him:  "Now  I  have  answered  every  question  you  wanted 
to  know.  I  have  proved  what  our  proposition  will  do 
for  you.  Now  I  want  you  to  be  frank  with  the  reason 
you  have  not  bought  it.  What  is  the  real  reason  ?" 

If  it  is  a  question  of  his  advertising  man  or  partner, 
go  right  to  them  and  say:  "Mr.  Merchant  has  wonder- 
ful confidence  in  you.  He  would  not  think  of  taking 
this  service  unless  you  want  it,  but  he  believes  these  are 
good  advertising  tools  and  he  wants  you  to  have  every 
possible  aid  and  convenience  in  your  work  and  I  am  sure 
that  a  man  of  your  ability  will  readily  appreciate  what 
I  have  to  offer."  A  situation  of  this  kind  is  easy  for  the 
salesman  who  knows  how  to  handle  it. 

Causing  Decision. 

Sometimes  there  isn't  any  real  objection  in  his  mind. 
He  will  admit  everything  you  say,  but  he  lacks  the  nerve 
to  bring  himself  to  the  point  of  signing  the  order;  in 
other  words,  he  is  afraid  of  his  own  judgment.  You 
must  be  gentle  with  a  man  of  this  kind.  He  is  timid, 
but  he  wants  to  believe  you  and  he  is  yours  if  you  only 
follow  him  up.  Say  to  him:  "You  admit  that  you  are 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  265 

losing  money  every  week  you  are  not  using  this  service. 
You  see  it  with  your  own  eyes.  Then  how  can  you  still 
hesitate?  If  some  good  clerk  would  come  along  here 
wanting  a  job,  and  convinced  you  that  he  could  sell 
goods  like  this  salesman,  Advertising,  who  would  work 
for  such  a  ridiculous  salary,  you  wouldn't  stop  a  minute. 
You  would  be  afraid  he  would  go  somewhere  else.  Why, 
I  feel  just  as  if  I  were  standing  here  and  watching  the 
money  leak  out  of  your  store  and  you  wouldn't  stop  the 
leak  when  I  showed  you  where  it  was.  I  feel  that  I  am 
to  blame  for  your  loss  if  I  go  out  without  your  order, 
for  I  know  I  haven't  shown  you  this  proposition  in  its 
true  light." 

Then  appeal  to  his  pride  by  saying:  "I  know  that 
even  if  you  didn't  have  enough  judgment  of  your  own 
to  buy  this,  you  would  buy  it  on  the  judgment  of  the 
thousands  of  other  merchants  who  are  using  it.  But  you 
have  enough  judgment  of  your  own,  so  let's  get  busy." 

Some  merchants  will  constantly  have  in  mind  the  fact 
that  you  are  going  to  get  a  commission  on  the  sale,  which 
accounts  for  your  desire  to  do  business. 

"Of  course  I  make  money  when  I  sell  goods,  or  I 
wouldn't  be  here.  So  do  you,  but  my  business  is  just  as 
honest  as  yours  is.  You  believe  in  your  goods  and  I 
believe  in  mine.  You  would  not  be  treating  your  cus- 
tomers right  unless  you  were  in  earnest  about  the  goods 
you  sold  them.  But  it  isn't  simply  the  commission  on 
this  sale  I  am  after.  I  am  after  your  future  business. 
I  wouldn't  come  down  here  to  make  one  sale  with  you 
if  it  ended  there.  I  know  it  will  make  money  for  you,  it 
will  save  you  money,  and  that  you  will  continue  to  use 
it." 


266  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

The  Time  to  Close. 

There  Is  a  Tide  in  the  Affairs  of  Men.  And  this 
was  never  as  true  with  any  class  of  men  as  it  is  with  sales- 
men. There  is  a  certain  time  to  close  an  order.  If  you 
try  it  too  soon  you  flush  your  man.  If  you  wait  too  long 
the  iron  is  cold.  The  ideal  sale  is  where  you  do  not  have 
to  ask  a  man  to  sign  an  order — where  your  selling  talk 
with  him  is  more  in  the  nature  of  a  conversation. 

Don't  appear  anxious  to  get  his  signature,  and  if 
you  see  you  have  tried  too  soon  or  waited  too  long,  go  on 
talking  until  you  bring  him  up  to  the  point  again.  But 
if  you  do  ask  him  to  sign,  don't  be  afraid  to,  or  act  like  it. 
The  more  confidence  you  have  the  more  likely  he  is  to 
comply  with  your  request.  Many  a  salesman  will  ask 
a  man  to  sign  an  order  in  a  manner  which  will  prove 
successful  when  nine  times  out  of  ten  others  would  fail 
under  the  same  circumstances. 

A  good  way  is  to  ask  a  man  for  his  letterhead,  so  you 
may  be  sure  to  get  his  name  and  address  correct.  Or 
ask  him  whether  he  wants  the  goods  shipped  by  freight 
or  express.  He  indirectly  commits  himself  in  this  way 
and  then  the  rest  is  easy. 

If  he  objects  to  signing  the  order,  state  that  it  is  only 
an  agreement  on  his  part  to  pay  for  the  service  and  that 
it  is  the  same  protection  to  him  that  it  is  to  us.  Tell  him 
that  it  is  simple,  that  he  can  see  for  himself  there  is  no 
joker  in  it,  and  that  you  will  leave  him  a  duplicate  copy 
if  he  so  desires ;  that  if  he  means  to  pay  for  the  service 
there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not  sign  the  order.  But 
never  indicate  to  him  that  you  are  afraid  he  won't. 

The  minute  you  begin  to  talk  to  a  customer,  one  of 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  267 

you  is  master  of  the  situation.  One  leads,  the  other  fol- 
lows. If  you  will  direct  the  talk  you  will  also  direct  his 
thought  and  attention.  If  you  leave  this  to  him,  he  will 
sidetrack  you ;  in  other  words,  one  of  you  must  be  master 
of  the  situation.  You  have  got  to  know  more  about  your 
proposition  than  he  does  and  talk  in  a  way  that  will 
make  him  see  that,  without  antagonizing  him. 

Some  Price  Arguments. 

When  a  customer  says,  "I  like  your  proposition,  but  I 
won't  pay  that  much  money  for  cuts." 

"Mr.  Merchant,  I  haven't  asked  you  to  buy  a  cut.  I 
am  not  selling  them,  but  I  am  selling  advertising.  We 
wouldn't  furnish  you  these  cuts  if  you  could  procure 
them  in  any  other  way  and  it  is  only  because  they  are 
necessary  in  order  to  reproduce  the  advertisement  in  your 
newspaper.  It  would  cost  you  many  times  our  price  to 
reproduce  them.  It  is  only  to  save  you  a  loss  of  trouble 
and  inconvenience  that  we  attempt  to  furnish  them.  Let 
me  ask  how  much  you  paid  for  that  hat  you  have  on? 
Three  dollars,  you  say?  Wool  is  worth  about  80  cents  a 
pound  and  your  hat  doesn't  weigh  over  one-half  pound 
—not  quite  that  much — yet  you  paid  $3  for  it.  Why? 
Because  you  paid  for  the  man's  knowledge  who  dyed  the 
wool,  for  the  man  who  made  the  felt,  the  man  who 
blocked  the  hat,  the  factory,  wholesaler's  and  jobber's 
profits.  You  didn't  pay  $3  for  a  half-pound  of  wool; 
you  paid  $3  for  a  hat. 

"You  aren't  paying  us  $1  for  a  cut;  you  are  paying  us 
$1  for  an  ad. 

"If  you  were  going  to  invest  in  a  bond  you  would 
rather  pay  $100  for  a  bond  that  was  safe  and  sure,  and 


268  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

would  bring  a  return  of  $200  than  you  would  pay  $50 
for  a  bond  that  would  bring  you  in  $25.  We  could 
furnish  you  cuts  for  10  cents  apiece  if  we  were  selling 
cuts — the  same  as  you  can  buy  a  rag  for  25  cents  with 
which  to  cover  your  head.  You  carry  the  goods  in  stock 
your  customers  buy,  even  if  it  amounts  to  $10,000,  be- 
cause you  can  make  a  profit  on  them.  And  here  you  are 
investing  only  $52  and  investing  it  as  you  use  it  for 
something  which  will  help  you  sell  these  goods  the  year 
around.  Think  of  all  the  money  you  have  tied  up  in 
this  stock.  Think  of  the  clerks 'you  pay,  your  rent  and 
light  and  other  overhead  expenses.  Then  you  will  hesi- 
tate another  instant  on  paying  $1  a  week  for  the  most 
important  end  of  this  whole  business?  The  service 
you  see  before  you  represents  an  outlay  of  thousands 
and  thousands  of  dollars  to  build;  besides  the  members 
of  our  concern  have  spent  years  and  years  of  work  in 
the  advertising  field  in  order  to  be  able  to  do  such  work. 
This  service  could  not  come  to  you  without  this  outlay; 
without  the  mass  of  information  at  our  command.  Don't 
look  at  it  as  so  many  cuts.  What  it  does  for  you,  that 
is  the  point!  The  profits  it  represents,  the  study,  the 
experience,  the  knowledge.  You  could  not  afford  to 
take  advantage  of  what  is  represented  here  in  any  other 
way  unless  it  was  syndicated  to  you.  You  are  simply 
looking  at  a  dollar  a  week;  but  on  the  other  hand,  look 
what  it  brings  to  you. 

"If  you  were  sick  would  you  say,  'No,  I  don't  want 
a  doctor.  He  will  charge  me  $2  and  maybe  the  medi- 
cine won't  cost  25  cents."  It  isn't  what  the  medicine 
would  cost  you,  it  is  the  good  it  would  do  you." 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  269 

To  the  merchant  who  says  he  gets  cuts  free  with  the 
brand  of  shoes  he  buys,  or  cut  glass  he  handles,  etc. : 

"Are  you  in  business,  Mr.  Merchant,  for  John  Jones 
or  for  the  Blank  Shoe  Co.?  Whose  business  are  you 
advertising?  Do  you  want  your  customers  to  think  that 
you  have  to  advertise  another  man's  business?  I  want 
to  tell  you  why  it  is  a  dangerous  thing  for  you  to  do. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  Blank  Shoe  Co.  These  people 
up  to  a  short  time  ago  put  out  a  union-made  shoe  with 
the  union  label.  They  had  a  big  trade  in  union  towns. 
Recently  they  got  in  trouble  with  the  union,  were  placed 
on  the  'unfair  list.'  Then  what  happened  to  the  mer- 
chants who  were  advertising  the  Blank  union-made  shoe 
and  had  a  union  trade?  Do  you  want  to  be  cut  like  this? 

"I  know  another  instance  where  a  shoe  dealer  was 
handling  a  standard  brand  of  shoes  which  he  agreed  to 
sell  at  certain  prices.  Through  an  oversight  he  placed 
some  broken  sizes  in  a  lot  on  sale  at  reduced  prices  and 
advertised  them.  One  of  his  competitors  down  the  street 
noticed  his  ad  in  the  paper,  wrote  to  the  manufacturers 
and  got  the  line  himself.  In  three  years  this  merchant 
had  spent  $1,000  advertising  another  man's  business 
and  his  competitor  got  the  benefit  of  it.  Now  when 
a  customer  comes  into  his  store  and  says:  *I  want  a 
Blank  shoe,'  he  has  to  say,  'I  haven't  got  them.'  And 
when  a  customer  says,  'Why  haven't  you  ?  Is  there  any 
place  in  town  where  I  can  get  them?'  he  either  has  to 
lie  or  else  say,  'Go  down  to  my  competitor;  he  can  sell 
you  a  pair.' 

"Think  how  much  better  off  this  man  would  be  if  he 
had  always  given  his  customers  to  understand  that  he 
bought  the  best  shoes  the  market  afforded;  that  he  was 


270  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

a  judge  of  leather;  that  he  knew  quality  and  style  and 
advertised  his  business  this  way.  Then  when  he  lost  a 
line  of  shoes  or  wanted  to  turn  them  down  he  would  be 
in  a  position  to  do  so.  You  are  playing  with  fire  when 
you  advertise  another  man's  business. 

"Suppose  a  jeweler  is  handling  a  certain  line  of  cut 
glass  which  he  advertises  in  the  paper.  Their  salesman 
comes  along  and  says ;  'Mr.  Merchant,  let's  make  up  your 
order.'  The  jeweler  says,  'All  right,'  but  finds  he  has 
quite  a  stock  on  hand  and  cannot  order  very  much  new 
goods.  Is  the  salesman  going  to  find  it  to  his  advantage 
to  sell  this  man  a  few  pieces  which  are  out  of  stock  or 
to  go  down  and  place  the  line  with  somebody  else?  Isn't 
it  better  for  the  jeweler  to  carry  the  best  cut  glass  on 
the  market,  standard  goods,  to  advertise  in  the  paper 
as  such,  and  then  when  his  customers  come  into  his  store 
to  show  them  what  he  has.  If  they  have  seen  a  certain 
line  of  cut  glass  advertised  in  high-class  magazines  and 
the  ad  brings  them  into  his  store,  won't  they  be  a  lot 
more  impressed  with  his  good  judgment  when  they  see 
his  assortment,  and  with  his  ability  as  a  merchant,  than 
if  he  has  to  advertise  the  other  man's  goods  in  his  paper? 

"If  we  wanted  to  sell  this  service  for  double  the  price, 
you  know  lots  of  merchants  would  buy  it.  No  doubt 
we  could  do  this  and  make  lots  of  money,  but  we  don't 
look  at  it  that  way.  Our  price  is  reasonable  and  we  make 
a  profit,  just  as  you  or  any  other  man  would,  and  we 
make  it  reasonable  enough  so  that  we  will  get  your  busi- 
ness year  after  year.  What  we  make  on  the  service 
don't  concern  you ;  it  is  the  money  the  service  makes  for 
you.  You  are  not  buying  cuts;  you  are  simply  paying 
for  advertising  service,  and  you  are  paying  for  that  after 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  271 

you  have  used  it  and  got  your  returns.  There  is  just 
one  thing  for  you  to  do.  Take  advantage  of  this  won- 
derful salesman  who  will  work  for  you  at  $1  a  week  and 
let  him  begin  just  as  quick  as  he  can." 

Why  We  Don't  Pay  Freight. 

"If  we  paid  freight  we  would  simply  have  to  add  this 
item  to  the  price  of  the  service.  The  freight  charges 
are  a  very  small  item  in  any  territory  and  as  we  have  a 
fixed  profit  it  would  simply  mean  that  the  man  near  by 
was  paying  as  much  as  the  man  in  Texas  or  California, 
which  would  not  be  fair.  This  way  you  are  simply  pay- 
ing your  share." 

Getting  a  Reference. 

In  closing  a  man,  remember  that  you  cannot  pay  a 
customer  a  bigger  compliment  or  a  neater  one  than  to 
ask  of  him  a  favor  in  the  right  way.  Say  something 
like  this:  "Now,  Mr.  Customer,  you  see  what  a  wonder- 
ful proposition  this  is.  You  understand  it  now.  Who 
is  the  man  in  the  shoe  or  furniture  line  that  you  would 
like  to  see  get  this?  You  know  I  only  sell  one  man  in 
a  town.  You  can  see  how  much  good  it  is  going  to  do 
you  and  if  you  have  a  friend  you  would  like  to  see  get 
in  on  a  good  thing  you  can  rest  assured  that  he  will 
thank  you  every  week  this  year  for  sending  me  to  him." 

A  Good  Argument. 

Following  is  a  good  price  argument :  "Have  you  ever 
used  trading  stamps  ?  Haven't  many  merchants  found  it 
profitable  to  give  5  per  cent  on  trading  stamps — that 
means,  to  pay  out  $500  on  every  $10,000  worth  of  goods 
sold?  Well,  let  me  ask  you  if  you  haven't  had  some  sort 


272  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

of  a  premium  to  sell  baking  powder,  or  some  article 
where  your  customer,  for  instance,  bought  a  can  of  bak- 
ing powder  for  15  cents  and  got  a  chance  for  a  prize? 
Did  they  ever  come  back  and  ask  you  for  the  same  kind 
of  baking  powder?  Xo.  They  bought  it  simply  to  get 
the  prize,  and  it  is  the  same  proposition  when  they  come 
for  trading  stamps.  They  are  not  impressed  with  your 
goods,  but  simply  with  the  stamps,  and  you  are  simply 
educating  them  to  run  after  premiums  and  go  to  the 
man  down  the  street  when  he  offers  something  new. 

"Real  advertising  is  molding  public  opinion,  and  the 
advertising  which  welds  your  customers  into  a  firm,  en- 
during patronage  is  the  kind  that  makes  you  money." 

After  you  have  given  him  a  talk  on  advertising  con- 
taining the  previous  matter  you  can  easily  say, 
"Wouldn't  you  pay  me  $5  a  week  to  work  in  your  store 
on  the  advertising  end  of  your  business  if  I  would  fur- 
nish the  illustrations  for  your  paper  every  week  and 
spend  all  of  my  time  wTiting  your  ads?  I  am  offering 
you  a  lot  more  than  I  could  possibly  do.  If  your  busi- 
ness required  it  you  wouldn't  hesitate  a  minute  to  put  on 
another  clerk,  and  I  am  showing  you  that  your  business 
does  need  this  clerk  or  salesman,  and  I  am  offering  him 
to  you  for  the  ridiculous  price  of  $1  a  week,  15  cents  a 
day.  What  is  the  use  of  your  buying  space  in  the  news- 
paper which  you  don't  get  the  benefit  of,  letting  trade  go 
to  people  wiio  have  high-priced  advertising  men,  run- 
ning the  same  copy  the  second  time,  not  having  your  ad 
in  at  all,  or  worrying  your  life  away  writing  ads,  when 
you  can  get  an  advertising  manager  like  this  for  $1  a 
week?" 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  273 

Payments. 

While  we  are  perfectly  willing  to  give  a  man  a  year 
to  pay  for  his  goods,  wherever  possible  we  would  much 
prefer  the  service  to  be  sold  at  30  days,  less  5  per  cent. 
Make  these  terms  whenever  you  can.  If  a  man  does  not 
take  the  discount  and  will  pay  in  30  days,  we  will  make 
him  free  of  charge  a  name  plate  the  size  of  his  service. 
This  means  a  zinc  with  his  name  and  the  nature  of  his 
business  on,  to  go  at  the  foot  or  head  of  his  ad,  prefer- 
ably at  the  foot.  It  is  something  that  would  cost  him 
from  $5  to  $10,  or  $15,  if  he  got  it  made  himself. 

While  we  want  the  business,  and  will  do  anything 
reasonable  to  cooperate  with  you  in  securing  it,  never 
be  so  anxious  as  to  lead  a  customer  to  think  he  can  make 
his  own  terms.  You  know  he  cannot  and  don't  be  afraid 
to  tell  him  so,  in  a  polite,  courteous  way.  Many  men 
you  try  to  sell  are  shrewd  buyers  and  any  good  buyer 
looks  upon  the  salesman  with  contempt  who  does  not 
make  his  best  proposition  first.  This  is  what  we  do,  as 
our  terms  are  certainly  as  liberal  as  any  one  could  desire, 
and  we  will  not  in  the  future  cut  a  price  or  deviate  from 
our  terms  in  any  way. 

Ofttimes  you  can  glance  around  a  man's  store  and 
see  thousands  of  dollars  tied  up  in  cash  registers,  safes, 
bookkeeping  systems,  adding  machines,  etc.  These 
things  indicate  that  a  man  is  progressive,  and  if  you  will 
simply  show  him  clearly  the  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
dollars  he  is  spending  to  take  care  of  his  business  after 
he  gets  it,  and  how  ridiculous  it  is  for  him  to  hesitate 
about  spending  $1  a  week  to  get  this  in  the  most  mod- 
ern and  scientific  manner,  he  will  not  hesitate. 

If  you  can,  secure  a  number  of  newspapers  in  which 

I.B.L.  Vol.  2—18 


274  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

his  ad  has  been  running  for  different  periods  over  the 
past  year  and  then  compare  them  with  the  ads  in  our 
service  and  you  will  have  an  argument  that  is  unanswer- 
able. 

" Nerve  Medicine.'1 

Here  is  some  more  nerve  medicine  for  the  weak- 
minded  brethren,  the  ones  who  cannot  make  up  their 
minds.  Like  the  poor,  they  will  always  be  with  us  and 
somebody  will  have  to  make  up  their  minds  for  them  as 
long  as  they  are. 

"Mr.  Merchant,  you  agree  that  our  service  will  make 
you  money  and  save  you  money  and  still  you  will  not 
take  it  today.  You  will  'some  time  in  the  future  when 
your  business  is  better.'  Mr.  Merchant,  if  one  of  your 
family  was  ill  when  would  you  get  the  doctor — wait  until 
she  was  better  ?  After  the  doctor  came  would  you  put  off 
getting  the  prescription  filled  until  she  was  well?  Or 
would  you  say  to  the  druggist,  'Give  me  a  little  of  this 
medicine?'  No,  you  would  get  a  doctor  and  get  him 
quick  and  do  exactly  what  he  told  you. 

"Your  business  is  sick.  Here  is  the  doctor.  You  have 
the  prescription  free  of  charge  and  yet  you  don't  want 
to  get  the  medicine  until  your  business  gets  better.  Next 
to  your  family  your  business  is  dearest  to  your  heart, 
and  why  shouldn't  it  be?  It  provides  for  you  all.  It 
is  your  life.  Can  you  let  it  linger  on  another  day,  and 
perhaps  die  when  a  scratch  of  the  pen  will  cure  it?" 

To  the  banker  who  says  that  "he  does  not  believe  it 
is  necessary  for  them  to  advertise,  because  they  are  well 
known,  have  all  the  depositors  they  can  get  out  of  the 
community,  etc.": 


SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE.  275 

"Today  every  banker  is  exposed  to  the  competition 
of  forcible  advertising  appearing  in  the  magazines  and 
periodicals  circulated  in  their  community. 

"There  are  institutions  seeking  depositors  who  offer 
equal  rates  of  interest,  the  benefits  of  depositing  with 
a  large  institution  and  the  names  of  men  as  directors  who 
are  world-renowned  as  financiers.  They  are  successful. 

"The  statement  of  the  Colonial  Trust  of  Cleveland 
alone  shows  over  two  millions  in  deposits — and  not  one 
cent  of  that  money  is  from  the  residents  of  their  city. 
Besides  innumerable  banks  in  the  cities,  look  at  the  bond 
investments;  wildcat  schemes,  and  the  thousand  and  one 
other  things  which  are  taking  the  money  out  of  the  peo- 
ple in  your  town.  Now,  if  you  and  all  the  other  bankers 
want  to  band  together,  and  die  together,  it  might  sound 
pretty,  but  it  is  not  good  commercial  sense.  Ten  years 
ago  many  merchants  did  not  believe  in  advertising.  Mail- 
order houses  did  not  alarm  them  any  more  than  mail- 
order banks  alarm  you.  What  is  the  result  today? 

"If  these  merchants  had  advertised  properly  at  that 
time,  do  you  think  mail  order  business  would  have  grown 
like  it  has?  Now  let  me  tell  you,  Mr.  Banker,  it  is  going 
to  be  the  same  proposition  over  and  over  again  with  the 
banks.  Five  years  ago  mail-order  banks  were  not  known 
and  no  bank  thought  of  advertising.  Today  you  know 
what  the  situation  is,  and  I  think  you  can  tell  what  it 
will  be  in  ten  years  from  now. 

"Furthermore,  as  to  having  all  the  depositors  it  is 
possible  to  get,  I  do  believe  you  are  sincere  in  your  state- 
ment. Look  at  the  Chicago  Telephone  Company,  a 
world-renowned  monopoly.  They  have  no  competition, 
but  they  create  and  stimulate  a  desire  for  a  telephone  by 


276  SELLING  A  BUSINESS  SERVICE. 

constant  advertising,  just  as  you  may  create  and  stimu- 
late a  desire  for  a  bank  account  by  advertising.  Don't 
the  Standard  Oil  Company  advertise  although  they 
have  a  monopoly?  Would  your  wife  ever  use  paraffin  if 
it  had  not  been  advertised,  or  a  thousand  and  one  other 
by-products  that  they  manufacture?" 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
TRAVELING  SALESMEN. 

A  little  knowledge  of  the  history  of  selling  goods  by 
traveling  agents  is  desirable,  but  the  earlier  history  of 
commercial  traveling  is  a  good  deal  like  snakes  in  Ireland 
— conspicuous  by  absence. 

Seekers  after  information  on  the  subject  who  resort 
to  works  of  reference  can  scarcely  fail  to  be  confronted 
with  the  statement  that  the  commercial  traveler  is  of 
comparatively  recent  creation.  As  this  may  be  said  to 
be  the  truth,  but  not  the  whole  truth,  some  explanation 
is  necessary. 

Few  books  have  shed  more  glamor  over  the  young  lives 
of  a  past  generation  than  the  collection  of  tales  known 
as  the  "Arabian  Nights,"  and  although  the  great  increase 
of  popular  literature  for  the  young  tends  somewhat  to 
crowd  out  this  form  of  food  for  the  imagination,  they 
are  still  sufficiently  popular  to  be  constantly  reproduced 
in  variously  abridged  forms.  The  sale  of  merchandise 
is  the  basis  of  a  great  many  of  these  tales,  and  mer- 
chants figure  conspicuously  therein,  being  evidently 
faithfully  represented  from  the  life  of  those  times;  in 
support  of  which  intimation  the  words  of  the  Orientalist, 
Professor  Jonathan  Scott,  may  be  quoted  appropriately: 
"It  would  be  needless  to  enlarge  on  the  estimation  in 
which  the  stories  of  the  1001  Nights  are  held  in  those 

277 


278  TRAVELING  SALESMEN. 

countries  where  they  are  known  in  their  original  lan- 
guage, as  presenting  true  pictures  of  Oriental  opinions, 
habits,  and  manners." 

"Those  sellers  of  merchandise,"  says  an  English 
writer,  "at  any  rate,  traveled  commercially.  That  at 
least  must  be  admitted  by  those  who  would  not  style  them 
commercial  travelers.  The  argument  that  is  anticipated 
in  support  of  such  views  is  that  a  commercial  traveler 
does  not  take  the  goods  which  he  has  to  sell  about  with 
him.  This  is  true,  but  he  as  often  as  not  carries  samples 
of  many  of  them,  and  those  Eastern  merchants  were 
wont,  when  certain  of  their  wares  were  approved  of, 
to  promise  that  they  would  either  come  again  with  more 
of  the  like  or  intrust  a  further  consignment  to  the  care 
of  some  approved  third  party  to  bring  it  to  the  buyer, 
who  practically  gave  an  order  for  it  by  promising  to 
purchase  it  on  arrival  if  of  similar  nature  to  the  goods 
which  the  merchant  had  himself  displayed.  There  was, 
therefore,  in  connection  with  those  transactions  much 
of  the  spirit  if  not  of  the  letter  of  commercial  traveling. 

Ancient  Travelers  Held  in  Respect. 

"It  is  quite  refreshing  to  those  who  wish  to  uphold 
and  maintain  the  dignity  of  commerce,  to  refer  to  these 
tales  of  old  times  and  note  the  respect  which  was  accord- 
ed to  the  purveyor  of  valuable  goods. 

"It  may  be  anticipated  that  some  will  say,  'Those  mer- 
chants were  not  bona  fide  commercial  travelers,  because 
they  waited  on  people  who  bought  for  private  use.' 
There  are  two  answers  to  this : 

"First,  that  was  not  the  case  universally.  Readers 
who  investigate  can  find  sketches  of  commercial  inter- 


TRAVELING  SALESMEN.  279 

course  between  one  traveling  merchant  and  another  as 
seller  and  buyer. 

"Second,  there  are  to  this  day  men  who  besides  solicit- 
ing orders  from  trade  customers,  have  a  regular  clientele 
among  private  consumers.  Take,  for  example,  the  case 
of  wine  merchants'  and  aerated  water  manufacturers' 
representatives.  Many  of  these  call  both  on  retail  trades- 
men and  on  wealthy  private  individuals  who  can  buy 
more  than  the  average  consumer.  But,  nevertheless, 
they  rank  as  regular  commercial  travelers  when  they  go 
systematically  on  journeys  as  the  paid  representatives 
of  commercial  firms. 

Evolution  of  the  Modern  Traveler. 

"Suffice  it  then  to  say,  that  in  connection  with  the  sales 
of  the  Oriental  merchants  of  old  times  there  was  that 
which  savored  of  commercial  traveling,  although  the 
modern  commercial  traveler  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have 
evolved  from  such  a  commencement.  He  is  the  outcome 
of  increased  volume  of  trade  and  greater  facilities  for 
extending  and  promoting  it,  such  as  improved  means  of 
locomotion,  diminished  rates  of  transportation,  which 
enable  traders  to  go  to  greater  distances  in  less  time 
and  to  send  goods  at  such  rates  of  freight  as  do  not  pre- 
vent the  purchasers  from  being  able  to  resell  or  make  use 
of  these  on  profitable  terms. 

"To  this  day  farmers  in  various  parts  of  England 
make  complaint  that  railway  rates  are  too  high  to  enable 
them  to  send  some  of  their  produce  to  large  centers, 
where  it  would  find  a  ready  demand  if  they  could  only 
afford  to  sell  it  there  at  the  prices  usually  paid.  But 
if  you  can  grow  a  fruit  at  a  cost  of  less  than  a  farthing 
per  pound,  and  there  is  a  ready  demand  for  it  in  the 


280  TRAVELING  SALESMEN. 

nearest  large  town  at  three  farthings  per  pound,  that 
is  no  good  to  you  if  it  costs  over  a  halfpenny  (two  far- 
things) per  pound  to  transmit  it  thither. 

"So  long  as  the  buyer  and  the  seller  could  come  into 
direct  contact,  and  the  former  expected  to  pay  at  once 
and  to  arrange  then  and  there  for  the  removal  of  his 
purchases,  business  transactions  did  not  involve  the  neces- 
sity or  expediency  of  the  employment  of  men  as  com- 
mercial travelers.  There  were  not,  as  now,  proportion- 
ate amounts  of  money  to  be  collected,  because  the  giving 
of  credit  was  far  less  in  vogue. '  If  a  buyer  carried  off 
his  purchases  and  did  not  pay,  how  was  he  to  be  got  at? 

"It  would,  in  many  cases,  have  cost  the  seller  infinitely 
more  than  the  value  of  the  sale  to  take  steps  to  come  at 
the  defaulter  and  exact  payment.  He  could  ordinarily 
neither  have  spared  the  time  to  follow  him  up,  as  that 
might  have  entailed  a  journey  of  weeks  or  even  months, 
nor  could  he  have  afforded  to  send  anyone  else  for  the 
purpose,  so  great  would  have  been  the  expense,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  risks  involved  by  traveling  in  those  early 
days,  and  the  doubtful  justice  which  strangers  too  often 
encountered  when  they  arraigned  men  before  tribunals 
beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  their  own  rulers. 

"Neither  could  many  traders  send  emissaries  far 
afield,  because  they  would  not  have  been  in  a  position 
to  transport  goods  profitably  to  a  distance,  owing  to  the 
cost  and  labor  which  the  transition  would  have  involved. 
Some  few  did  so  on  occasion,  but  such  was  not  the  ordi- 
nary practice.  People  ordinarily  supplied  their  wants 
from  the  nearest  center,  and  the  fairs  which  used  to  be 
held  periodically  in  various  districts  were  resorted  to 
for  that  purpose. 


TRAVELING  SALESMEN.  281 

Improved  Means  of  Transit. 

"But  when  improved  means  of  transit  lessened  the 
carriage  of  goods,  merchants  and  manufacturers  were 
able  to  extend  the  limits  of  their  trade  transactions,  and 
found  that  it  paid  them  to  do  so;  and  out  of  the  practice 
of  journeying  fitfully  for  that  purpose  arose  the  sys- 
tem now  so  universally  adopted  of  having  their  establish- 
ments represented  by  commercial  travelers  empowered 
to  collect  money  and  solicit  orders  systematically. 

"So  those  who  state  that  the  calling  of  commercial 
traveler  is  one  which  practically  was  non-existent  prior 
to  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  are  right  in  the 
main,  but  not  wholly  so.  Research  into  the  transactions 
of  some  of  the  larger  mercantile  establishments  existing 
before  that  date  affords  evidence  that  men  were  em- 
ployed regularly  to  sell  for  these.  It  would  then  be 
safer  to  state  that  the  calling  existed  earlier  to  an  ex- 
tent, but  was  imperfectly  recognized  prior  to  the  be- 
ginning of  the  nineteenth  century,  when  a  system  at- 
tended hitherto  with  much  irregularity  became  more  and 
more  regular.  There  was  increased  production,  and 
greater  facilities  for  transit,  affording  thereby  a  widened 
area  for  its  disposal. 

Nineteenth  Century  Developments. 

"It  followed  naturally  with  such  developments  that 
some  form  of  supervision  must  be  instituted  for  the  pur- 
pose of  maintaining  and  increasing  still  further  these 
extended  business  connections.  Merchants  saw  that  it 
was  more  to  their  interest  to  keep  people  to  work  for 
them  exclusively,  so  that  their  transactions  should  be 
less  patent  to  others  than  was  likely  to  be  the  case  when 


282  TRAVELING  SALESMEN. 

they  intrusted  them,  as  they  frequently  used  to  do,  to 
agents  who  were  employed  by  others  also;  and  further, 
that  they  should  have  fuller  control  of  the  movements 
of  men  so  employed,  besides  reaping  the  whole  result 
of  their  industry.  So  commercial  travelers  came  regu- 
larly into  vogue. 

"In  England  the  macadamizing  of  roads  made  a  great 
difference  to  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  getting 
about,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  was  not  till 
1815  that  Mr.  Macadam  received  his  appointment  as 
surveyor  of  the  Bristol  roads,  and  was  able  to  carry  out 
his  road-making  improvements.  After  that,  travelers 
took  to  wheels,  instead  of  the  saddle,  much  more  uni- 
versally, and  were  enabled  by  the  change  to  carry  more 
samples  with  them.  A  drapery  (dry goods)  traveler, 
for  example,  must  have  been  very  much  hampered  when 
he  had  to  restrict  the  size  and  weight  of  his  samples  to 
what  he  could  take  in  his  saddle-bags. 

Origin  of  "Bagman." 

"The  term  'bagman'  is  too  modern  for  any  definition 
of  it  to  be  found  in  Dr.  Johnson's  dictionary.  It  was 
applied  to  commercial  travelers  because  they  customar- 
ily rode  from  place  to  place  with  saddle-bags  contain- 
ing their  samples  and  necessary  effects.  The  appella- 
tion stuck'  to  them  after  they  took  to  driving  instead  of 
riding,  and  some  British  writers  still  think  proper  to  dub 
them  with  the  sobriquet,  but  no  commercial  representa- 
tive nowadays,  save  in  jocular  strain,  would  address  his 
confreres  as  'fellow-bagmen.'  It  would  be  about  as  in- 
appropriate as  for  an  Eton  house-master  to  speak  to  his 
colleagues  as  'fellow-ushers.' 

"The  word  'bagman*  as  now  applied  is  by  many  felt  to 


TRAVELING  SALESMEN.  283 

be  offensive,  and  in  some  cases  is  used  for  that  express 
purpose.  When  Cobden  was  agitating  for  a  repeal  of 
the  Corn  Laws,  his  opponents  tried  to  bring  him  into 
contempt  by  constantly  alluding  to  him  as  'the  Man- 
chester bagman.' 

"In  Vol.  I  of  Murray's  New  English  Dictionary  ap- 
pears the  following  definition  of  and  references  to  bag- 
man in  the  sense  of  commercial  traveler: 

'  'Bagman. — A  commercial  traveler,  whose  business 
it  is  to  show  samples  and  solicit  orders  on  behalf  of  man- 
ufacturers, etc.  (somewhat  depreciatory).' 

"Space  in  dictionaries  is  necessarily  limited,  but  it  is 
questionable  whether  this  definition  would  not  have  been 
improved  by  the  introduction  after  'solicit  orders'  of 
these  supplementary  words:  'and  ordinarily  to  collect 
money.'  For  there  are  perhaps  more  English  travelers 
who  solicit  orders  without  carrying  samples,  and  collect 
accounts,  than  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  get  orders  only, 
and  collect  no  money. 

"These  are  the  historical  references  in  the  Murray  dic- 
tionary: '1765,  Goldsmith,  Essay  1:  "The  bag-man 
was  telling  a  better  story."  1808,  J.  Wolcott  (Peter 
Pindar),  Peep  R.  Acad.  Works;  1812,  v.  360:  "The 
Bag-men  as  they  travel  by."  1815,  T.  Peacock,  Head- 
long Hall,  2:  "In  later  days  when  commercial  bags- 
men  began  to  scour  the  country."  1865,  Daily  Tele- 
graph, 13  Dec.  5-4:  "A  traveler — I  mean  a  bag-man, 
not  a  tourist — arriving  with  his  samples  at  a  provincial 
town."  ' 

"Those  who  note  these  references  may  be  surprised 
that  there  is  a  lapse  of  forty-three  years  between  the  first 
and  second.  But  is  the  first. quite  proven? 


284  TRAVELING  SALESMEN. 

Was  He  an  Insect-Destroyer? 

"The  old  editions  of  Goldsmith's  Essays  (and  all  the 
modern  ones  which  have  come  under  the  writer's  notice) , 
do  not  indicate  the  word  bag-man  in  connection  with  the 
passage  referred  to.  The  rendering  is  bug-man. 

"Some,  and  perhaps  the  majority,  will  say  *  Obviously 
this  is  a  misprint.  What  could  bug-man  be  but  bag- 
man?9 

"Well,  it  is  possible  that  it  might  mean  something 
else,  and  a  point  in  favor  of  this  .view  is  that  the  day  of 
the  reference  is  so  much  earlier  than  the  others  afforded. 
The  sentence  reads:  *  While  the  bug-man  at  the  same  time 
was  telling  a  better  story  of  a  noble  lord  with  whom  he 
could  do  anything.' 

"Noble  English  lords  of  the  eighteenth  century  were 
little  given  to  trading,  although,  judging  from  some 
specimens  of  modern  date,  it  would  be  assuming  a  good 
deal  to  infer  that  commercial  travelers  of  bygone  times 
were  never  given  to  bragging. 

"Many  shopkeepers  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
makers  of  articles  such  as  boots,  harness,  saddles,  etc., 
used  to  ride  round  on  horseback  soliciting  the  custom 
of  the  gentry  and  others  in  the  neighborhood.  They 
carried  saddlebags,  but  going  as  they  did  with  a  view  to 
selling  to  private  individuals  almost  entirely,  should  not 
be  classed  as  bagmen  by  those  who  consider  the  word 
bagman  synonymous  with  commercial  traveler. 

"Perhaps  the  individual  of  Goldsmith's  creation  was 
one  of  these.  Or  was  there  a  set  of  insect-destroyers 
who  were  proud  to  be  designated  by  an  appellation  sig- 
nificant of  that  particular  pest  against  which  they  waged 
war  chiefly? 


TRAVELING  SALESMEN.  285 

"The  writer  invited  readers  of  Notes  and  Queries  to 
shed  light  on  Goldsmith's  allusion,  and  to  specify  in- 
stances of  the  use  of  the  term  'bag-man'  in  the  sense  of 
commercial  traveler  prior  to  1800.  The  responses  re- 
ceived inclined  to  the  insect-destroyer  interpretation,  and 
not  one  single  example  of  the  use  of  the  term  'bagman,' 
in  the  sense  specified,  before  1800,  has  been  furnished.'" 

Changes  Noted  in  England. 

With  the  development  of  railroad  transportation,  the 
character  of  commercial  traveling  in  England  under- 
went many  changes  in  the  last  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  while  the  American  traveling  salesman  was  rap- 
idly being  evolved.  The  tremendous  growth  of  Ameri- 
can manufactures  subsequent  to  the  Civil  War  gave 
an  immense  impetus  to  commercial  traveling,  until  the 
traveling  salesman  became  a  positive  power  in  the  com- 
munity. The  American  traveler,  however,  was  never 
looked  down  upon,  as  in  the  British  Isles  and  on  the 
continent  of  Europe.  He  was  never  regarded  as  a  being* 
of  inferiority  in  the  social  scale,  but  was  always  recog- 
nized as  an  important  factor  in  national  business  life. 

Development  of  manufactures  and  of  transportation 
has  necessarily  been  accompanied  by  increased  competi- 
tion. 

To  return  for  a  moment  to  the  conditions  existing 
across  the  Atlantic,  English  commercial  travelers  are 
very  much  given  nowadays  to  saying  that  they  wish  that 
their  employers  would  go  out  on  the  road  themselves  to 
realize  the  increase  of  competition. 

"It  must  be  remembered,"  says  the  English  writer 
quoted  above,*  "that  foreign  competition  is  a  serious 

*  Mr.  Algernon  Warren,  author  of  ' l  Commercial  Knowledge, "  "  Com- 
mercial Traveling,"  etc. 


286  TRAVELING  SALESMEN. 

element  to  militate  against  the  success  of  the  modern 
traveler,  for  it  has  resulted  in  our  doing  business  with  a 
less  margin  of  profit.  Consequently,  the  English  mer- 
chants and  manufacturers  strain  every  nerve  to  make  up 
for  this  diminution  by  a  larger  turn-over — that  is,  by  do- 
ing more  business — so  they  are  keener  in  securing  the 
orders  of  all  parties  whom  they  believe  to  be  solvent 
buyers  of  their  articles.  So  the  tradesman  of  sound 
reputation  gets  waited  on  more  and  more.  He  in  his 
turn  is  forced  by  the  exigencies  .of  trade  to  look  closely 
to  purchasing  prices;  for  Cooperative  Supply  Associa- 
tions, and  greater  facilities  to  the  public  for  obtaining 
goods  from  a  distance,  have  lessened  his  margin  of 
profit  also. 

"It  is  really  no  exaggeration  to  affirm  that  to  earn  as 
much  as  their  fathers  did  before  them  in  similar  busi- 
nesses, many  shopkeepers  require  at  least  twice  as  many 
customers.  .  .  . 

Margins  of  Profit  Reduced. 

"Taking  them  all  round,  the 'individual  trade  of  the 
ordinary  retailer  or  of  the  small  manufacturer  has  not 
increased  in  the  same  proportion  to  that  of  large  whole- 
sale firms.  There  are  more  distributers  to  the  public 
than  there  ever  were,  so  the  trade  is  divided  up,  and 
unfortunately  for  those  who  do  it,  the  margins  of  profit 
are  so  reduced  that  the  strain  entailed  in  paying  their 
way  and  maintaining  themselves  and  those  dependent 
on  them  is  considerably  enhanced,  and  is  not  conducive  to 
their  giving  time  to  listening  to  travelers,  if  they  believe 
that  the  latter  are  trying  to  sell  them  anything  that  they 
do  not  stand  in  need  of. 


TRAVELING  SALESMEN.  287 

"Half  a  century  ago,  or  later  indeed,  not  nearly  so 
many  houses  had  by  advertisement  or  other  means  es- 
tablished a  reputation  for  proprietary  articles,  so  a  trav- 
eler, who  wished  to  sell  something  new,  had  not  to  en- 
counter these  obstacles  to  the  same  extent,  and  often 
found  that  nothing  of  similar  nature  had  hitherto  been 
introduced  into  the  district.  With  greater  bulk  of  trade 
has  come  a  more  than  proportionate  host  of  imitators  of 
those  who  are  believed  to  be  doing  a  large  portion  of 
it.  This  has  resulted  in  increased  worry  to  travelers  for 
the  older  houses,  and  also  in  abrupt  receptions  of  new 
competitors  trying  to  supersede  them. 

Quality  Standards  Higher. 

"The  standard  of  quality  is  now  much  more  uniform, 
as  makers  try  hard  to  perfect  their  articles,  and  dealers 
in  produce  are  driven  by  competition  to  be  most  care- 
ful in  their  selections  and  rejections.  But  fifty  or  sixty 
years  ago  great  improvements  were  being  made,  and 
shopkeepers  found  travelers  introducing  articles  to  them 
which  were  so  infinitely  superior  to  those  which  they  had 
been  retailing,  that  they  positively  welcomed  them,  and 
felt  grateful  to  the  travelers  for  helping  them  to  please 
their  customers  and  increase  their  trade.  But  nowadays 
one  firm's  goods  may  be  rather  better  than  those  of  sev- 
eral others,  but  it  is  seldom  that  they  are  infinitely  su- 
perior. Few  firms  can  charge  twenty  or  thirty  per  cent, 
more  than  the  average  price,  on  the  ground  of  superior 
excellence  of  quality.  Some  of  them  have  tried  to  meet 
competition  by  offering  two  qualities,  whereas  they  used 
to  sell  one  only.  The  result  of  this  has  been,  over  and 
over  again,  that  they  have  had  to  so  perfect  their  second 


288  TRAVELING  SALESMEN. 

quality  that  the  demand  for  their  dearer  article  practi- 
cally dies  out.     .     .     . 

"But,  in  reality,  processes  of  manufacture  have  been 
so  much  improved  that  the  manufacturer  can  produce 
an  article  which,  although  termed  second  quality,  affords 
much  better  value  for  the  price  paid  for  it  than  does 
the  so-called  No.  1,  which  may  be  only  slightly  superior 
and  yet  charged  considerably  higher,  because  it  has  not 
been  reduced  in  price  proportionately  to  the  cheaper 
cost  of  production  which  improvements  in  manufacture 
have  effected,  and  by  which  the  value  of  the  second- 
quality  article  is  computed. 

Buyers  Know  More  Nowadays. 

"The  knowledge  of  buyers  has  increased,  and  they  are 
no  longer  disposed  to  pay  what  is  asked  of  them,  unless 
persuaded  in  their  minds  that  the  sellers  regulate  their 
prices  on  some  sound  basis.  The  day  is  gone  by  for 
that  stamp  of  travelers  who  (as  one  assured  the  writer's 
father)  were  wont  to  assert  in  confidence  that  high  prices 
were  'merely  a  matter  of  nerve.'  Plenty  of  evidence 
could  be  forthcoming  to  show  that  wholesale  merchants 
and  manufacturers  used  frequently  to  charge  different 
prices  to  men  who  bought  equal  quantities.  There  was 
a  too  prevalent  feeling  that  one  man  could  afford  to  pay 
a  higher  price  than  another,  and  therefore  he  ought  to 
be  charged  more.  Consequently,  men  attempting  to 
do  a  wholesale  trade,  small  though  it  might  be,  so  long 
as  they  did  not  sell  over  a  counter  to  the  public,  often 
got  better  terms  than  others  who,  although  doing  more 
trade  in  the  aggregate,  maintained  retail  departments. 
A  manufacturer  sending  to  a  firm  of  wholesale  dealers 
for  some  ingredients  requisite  for  his  processes,  was 


TRAVELING  SALESMEN.  289 

frequently  charged  higher  prices  than  the  latter  exacted 
from  other  wholesale  dealers  for  similar  consignments, 
the  defense  for  doing  so  being  that  the  manufacturers 
would  get  more  profit  out  of  the  article  fabricated  from 
these  raw  materials,  than  would  the  wholesale  distributer, 
who  required  them  to  sell  again  just  as  they  were. 

Effects  of  Cooperative  Trading. 

"This  was  carried  to  an  absurd  degree.  Men  who 
professed  to  do  a  wholesale  trade  would  (some  of  them 
attempt  it  still),  when  they  only  required  goods  to  the 
value  of  a  few  shillings,  write  to  wholesale  firms  to  this 
effect:  'Please  give  your  very  lowest  wholesale  prices 
for  such-and-such  articles.'  Cooperative  trading  has 
had  a  salutary  effect  in  Britain  in  knocking  a  good  deal 
of  this  kind  of  thing  on  the  head.  A  firm  habitually 
sending  orders  to  another  business  establishment  for 
goods  amounting  to  not  less  than  ten  pounds  ($50)  on 
the  average,  may  reasonably  expect,  if  ordering  consign- 
ments of  less  value  on  occasion,  to  be  charged  for  these 
at  a  lower  rate  than  the  sellers  require  from  others  who 
always  order  petty  quantities,  but  that  is  a  different 
thing  to  claiming  preferential  treatment  on  the  score  of 
not  doing  direct  trade  with  the  public. 

"It  is  unreasonable  that  a  retail  tradesman,  who  makes 
larger  annual  purchases  from  one  establishment  than 
wholesale  firms  do,  should  not  buy  on  as  favorable  terms 
as  they.  But  such  used  to  be  the  case.  One  man's 
money  was  not  regarded  as  being  as  good  as  another's — 
that  is,  he  was  not  given  the  same  value  in  return  for  it. 
The  fact  that  this  state  of  things  existed,  tends  to  show 
how  much  less  travelers  were  impeded  by  competition, 

I.l.L.  Vol.  2—19 


290  TRAVELING  SALESMEN. 

and  what  numbers  of  traders  had  hazy  notions  about 
fair  market  values. 

Market  Information  Was  Scarce. 

"It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that  in  times  more  ap- 
proximate to  the  first  half  of  the  last  century,  shopkeep- 
ers and  small  manufacturers  were,  as  a  class,  far  more 
illiterate  than  they  now  are.  Writing  was  a  positive 
burden  to  many  of  them,  and  some  would  openly  aver 
that  they  would  rather  walk  miles  than  write  a  letter. 
Then,  again,  they  had  not  the  same  means  of  getting 
market  information.  Price-currents  were  not  universal, 
and  those  that  existed  were  less  indicative  of  market 
changes. 

"Nowadays  there  are  several  trade  journals  in  con- 
nection with  almost  every  recognized  industry.  Those 
that  existed  in  the  time  referred  to,  contained  neither 
the  same  proportion  of  commercial  intelligence  that  is 
positively  required  of  a  trade  organ  in  the  present  day, 
nor  had  they  a  similar  circulation.  A  tradesman  feels 
that  he  must  have  access  regularly  to  some  journal  which 
will  keep  him  posted  up  in  market  prices  and  trade  de- 
velopments. Many  a  young  traveler,  whom  the  party 
waited  upon  considers  too  self-assertive,  gets  arrested 
in  the  outpour  of  what  he  considers  to  be  valuable  in- 
formation, for  which  his  desired  customer  ought  to  be 
thankful,  by  the  remark,  'I  can  judge  that  for  myself. 
I  take  the  trade  journal  and  I  see  how  prices  are  going/ 

"In  point  of  fact,  trade  intelligence  was  less  access- 
ible and  more  costly.  Many  trade  journals,  which  used 
to  be  brought  out  once  a  month,  are  now  produced 
weekly,  and  the  pages  of  advertisements  which  they  con- 


TRAVELING  SALESMEN.  291 

tain  exceed  in  bulk  of  printed  matter  the  whole  con- 
tents of  those  monthly  issues. 

Travelers'  Information  Welcome. 

"Consequently,  the  tradesman  depended  much  more 
upon  travelers'  information,  and  was  grateful  for  it, 
and  sometimes  felt  very  helpless  when  he  missed  getting 
it.  The  writer  knew  of  a  chandler  in  Wales  who  never 
ventured  to  buy  tallow  without  first  consulting  a  trav- 
eler who  used  to  wait  upon  him  from  a  large  soap  and 
candle  manufacturing  firm  in  the  West  of  England. 
After  some  years  that  traveler,  who  has  since  earned 
the  highest  esteem  and  gratitude  of  his  fellow-citizens 
for  many  years  of  disinterested  devotion  to  civic  interests 
and  philanthropical  efforts,  ceased  to  travel,  and  re- 
mained at  home  to  help  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  the 
firm.  The  chandler  found  that  he  simply  could  not  get 
on  without  consulting  him,  and  took  to  reversing  the 
former  positions,  by  journeying  periodically  to  inter- 
view the  ex-traveler  in  his  office,  to  consult  him  about 
favorable  times  to  purchase  tallow.  He,  the  buyer,  came 
to  the  seller  to  ask  advice,  preferring  to  go  to  this  ex- 
pense rather  than  rely  on  such  information  as  the  trav- 
eler's successor,  a  well-meaning  but  less  experienced  man, 
could  impart  to  him. 

"In  the  present  day  many  traders  have  reason  to  be 
under  obligation  to  travelers  for  judicious  information, 
but  unfortunately  the  increased  band  of  commercials  in- 
cludes too  many  who,  thinking  that  they  know  what  their 
customers  do  not,  irritate  the  latter  by  taking  up  their 
time  with  a  flood  of  unsolicited  verbiage,  which  makes 
the  busy  trader  inclined  to  anathematize  the  whole  race 
of  travelers. 


292  TRAVELING  SALESMEN. 

"A  man  who  gets  poured  upon  him  a  torrent  of  words, 
which  he  considers  to  serve  no  purpose,  is  not  likely  to 
apply  to  that  same  source  when  he  does  want  to  know 
something,  and  nowadays  there  are  plenty  of  other  f  oun- 
tainheads.  It  is  this  loquaciousness  which  sometimes  re- 
sults in  letters  being  dispatched,  so  that  principals  have 
the  annoyance  of  reading:  'Tell  your  traveler  not  to 
call  upon  me,  I  would  rather  send  direct.'  Or,  'I  do 
not  like  your  Mr.  Blank ;  he  talks  too  much/ 

Collections  by  Travelers. 

"An  experienced  business  man,  however,  knows  that 
in  some  of  these  cases  the  traveler  is  not  always  to  blame, 
except  indeed  for  lack  of  that  invaluable  thing — tact. 
Sometimes  he  may  have  given  offense  by  trying  to  fulfill 
instructions  from  home,  in  the  way  of  not  hesitating  to 
ask  for  money  when  due.  A  man  of  tact  will  know  how 
to  solicit  payment  with  firmness,  and  yet  in  no  offensive 
manner;  but  a  zealous,  less-gifted  one  will  sometimes 
create  a  very  sore  feeling  by  his  mode  of  application. 
Sometimes,  too,  letters  requesting  that  the  traveler  shall 
not  call  are  merely  an  attempt  to  extort  more  credit  than 
is  justified  by  the  terms  of  sale.  If  goods  be  sold  on 
terms  of  *  three  months  current  journey  account' — that  is, 
with  an  understanding  that  all  goods  had  within  each 
term  of  a  quarter  of  a  year  are  due  to  be  paid  at  its  ex- 
piration— and  that  the  traveler  shall  customarily  call  and 
collect  the  payment  within  a  few  days  after  that  (the 
traveler's  ordinary  call  for  collection  of  money  due  is  an 
accommodation,  not  a  legal  obligation),  it  is  rather 
skabby  on  the  part  of  the  buyer,  if  in  his  power  to  do 
•fcherwise,  to  take  such  extended  credit  that  by  the  time  he 
remits  the  amount  of  an  owing  account,  another  is 


TRAVELING  g±LJE»MEN.  293 

not  far  from  being  due  likewise.  Thus  if  he  contract  to 
pay  the  traveler,  who  calls  upon  him  early  in  the  month 
of  April,  with  an  account  for  all  items  of  goods  bought 
from  the  house  that  he  represents,  during  January,  Feb- 
ruary, and  March  previous,  he  ought  not  to  say,  'I  pre- 
fer to  remit  direct,'  and  then  delay  his  payment  till  May 
or  June. 

"Of  course,  some  houses  enter  into  regular  agreements 
to  extend  credit  for  certain  considerations  favorable  to 
themselves,  but  in  the  ordinary  way  of  business,  when 
an  account  is  properly  due,  goods  having  been  bought 
according  to  specified  terms,  the  buyer  is  not  justified  in 
postponing  payment  in  the  manner  indicated." 

These  British  conditions  are  cited  to  show  that  travel- 
ing men's  trials  are  by  no  means  confined  to  the  American 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  Many  of  the  statements  and  com- 
ments made  above  will  be  found  interesting  by  students 
of  traveling  salesmanship  no  matter  where  their  field  of 
operations  may  lie.  We  may  now  deal  briefly  with  pres- 
ent-day conditions  of  commercial  traveling  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada. 

Commercial  Traveling  in  America. 

Traveling  salesmanship  is  an  extremely  important 
factor  of  American  business.  The  American  traveler 
now  penetrates  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  in  the  search  for 
wider  markets  for  American  goods. 

The  entrance  of  the  United  States  into  full  member- 
ship in  the  family  of  commercial  nations  is  of  compara- 
tively recent  date,  but  with  the  Spanish  War  of  1898 
there  came  a  general  realization  of  the  commercial  im- 
portance of  the  country  and  alio  a  realization  in  the 


294  TRAVELING  SALESMEN. 

United  States  of  the  possibilities  afforded  by  the  world 
markets.  The  island  possessions  practically  forced  upon 
the  United  States  by  the  results  of  that  war  immediately 
extended  the  market  for  American  products  and  also 
opened  the  eyes  of  many  American  manufacturers  to 
the  wider  markets  beyond  the  seas  which  they  had 
hitherto  neglected. 

A  traveling  salesman  has  been  well  defined  as  "the 
accredited  representative  of  a  business  firm  in  the  ex- 
ploitation of  distant  markets."  He  may  represent  eithei 
a  manufacturer  or  a  wholesaler,  jobber,  or  distributer. 

Where  the  manufacturer  turns  over  his  output  under 
contract  to  jobbers  who  undertake  the  distribution,  the 
jobbers  employ  roadmen  or  travelers  to  visit  certain  as- 
signed territories  and  sell  the  goods,  usually  to  retailers 
who  complete  the  distribution  by  selling  to  the  consumer. 

Wholesale  distribution  in  the  present  day  is  effected 
by  means  of,  first,  advertising;  second,  traveling  sales- 
manship ;  and  third,  mail  orders.  There  is  little  in  com- 
mon between  the  first  and  last  of  these  factors,  namely, 
the  traveling  salesman  and  the  mail  order  business,  but 
advertising  and  the  traveling  salesman  are  closely  re- 
lated. 

A  modern  sales  department  has  supervision  not  only 
of  the  traveling  salesmen  of  the  house,  but  also  of  the 
advertising  department,  while  the  traveling  salesman, 
aided  by  the  publicity  gained  for  the  goods  through  ad- 
vertising, extends  the  business  of  the  house  by  the  prac- 
tice of  direct  salesmanship  in  personal  contact  with  the 
retailer. 

The  organization  of  great  corporations  and  combina- 
tions of  manufacturing  concerns  has  tended  to  reduce 


TRAVELING  SALESMEN.  295 

the  number  of  traveling  salesmen;  in  fact,  the  saving 
which  results  from  reducing  the  number  of  such  repre- 
sentatives is  one  of  the  strongest  arguments  for  the  con- 
solidation of  industries.  Many  combinations  have  ef- 
fected a  great  saving  of  expense  by  the  partial  elimina- 
tion of  traveling  salesmen,  but  for  the  great  majority  of 
manufacturers  and  wholesalers,  the  roadman  is  still  in- 
dispensable. 

Two  Classes  of  Roadmen. 

Dr.  Samuel  E.  Sparling,  in  his  able  work  on  "Busi- 
ness Organization,"  says: 

"Roadmen  are  divided  into  two  classes — general  and 
special.  The  general  roadmen  carry  all  the  lines  sold  by 
one  concern  or  by  several  firms.  The  larger  wholesale 
houses  have  their  general  traveling  salesmen,  who  are 
sent  into  the  territory  where  small  markets  abound,  and 
form  the  principal  reliance  of  the  house  in  maintaining 
a  regular  trade.  They  visit  the  smaller  retail  stores  which 
buy  a  large  variety,  or  do  not  deal  in  special  wares  in 
quantities  which  would  warrant  the  visit  of  special  sales- 
men. The  general  salesmen  'make'  these  towns  at  regu- 
lar intervals. 

"Special  salesmen  are  found  with  those  firms  carrying 
a  special  line  of  goods  whose  value  is  large  and  fre- 
quently fluctuates  with  the  seasons.  It  is  customary  for 
the  most  progressive  retail  merchants  to  buy  upon  in- 
spection. This  is  done  by  going  to  the  larger  distribut- 
ing markets,  or  by  inspecting  the  samples  of  the  travel- 
ing salesman.  The  practice  of  retail  merchants  of  visit- 
ing the  wholesale  markets  to  lay  in  their  stock  is  rapidly 
passing  away.  These  visits  are  made  unnecessary  by 


296  TRAVELING  SALESMEN. 

the  use  of  traveling  salesmen.  Often  a  special  salesman 
is  able  to  sell  where  one  employed  in  general  work  would 
fail,  because  of  the  fact  that  the  former  is  usually  better 
qualified.  A  great  variety  of  drygoods  is  sold  through 
special  salesmen,  who  visit  their  customers  in  season; 
they  'make'  the  larger  towns,  and  visit  only  the  more 
progressive  merchants.  Their  field  is  limited  both  in  ter- 
ritory and  commodities,  as  well  as  in  the  number  of 
merchants  visited. 

"The  roadmen  operate  from. the  central  office  or  its 
branches.  The  sales  manager  directs  his  office  and  his 
entire  corps  of  salesmen,  while  the  sales  manager  of  the 
branch  office  is  virtually  in  charge  of  an  assigned  terri- 
tory. It  is  customary  to  place  over  each  territory  a  man- 
ager for  the  supervision  of  the  salesmen.  The  duties  of 
the  manager  of  the  roadmen  are  important.  He  must, 
in  the  first  place,  be  a  man  of  good  business  ability  and 
a  keen  judge  of  men.  He  assists  in  making  prices,  be- 
cause he  knows  the  conditions  of  the  market.  In  this 
way  the  salesmen  are  directly  or  indirectly  controlled 
from  the  home  office,  but  in  case  the  trade  expands  over 
a  wide  territory,  branch  offices  are  established.  A  ware- 
house is  frequently  established  in  connection  with  these 
branch  offices." 

Division  of  Territory. 

In  the  organization  of  a  sales  force,  one  of  the  first 
considerations  is  the  division  of  the  territory  which  it 
is  proposed  to  include  in  the  operations  of  the  house,  into 
such  sections  as  the  number  of  salesmen  to  be  employed 
can  conveniently  cover  at  regular  intervals  with  the  ut- 
most speed  and  economy.  In  laying  out  territory  for 
traveling  salesmen,  the  sales  manager  takes  into  account 


T1ATOLING  SALESMEN.  297 

the  facilities  for  transportation,  the  number  of  prospec- 
tive customers,  and  the  possible  demand  for  the  products 
of  the  house.  He  studies  the  possible  demand  in  order 
to  be  able  to  determine  whether  the  territory  is  being 
properly  worked  or  not.  He  then  sends  out  his  salesmen, 
after  proper  instruction  at  the  home  office,  each  being 
assigned  to  a  given  territory  over  which  he  makes  regu- 
lar trips  as  often  as  the  character  of  the  business  war- 
rants the  expense. 

In  some  lines  of  business,  crews  of  salesmen  are  sent 
out  to  cover  a  specific  territory  under  the  direction  of  a 
crew  manager.  Such  crews  may  establish  themselves  in 
a  city,  and  after  working  it  thoroughly  may  spread  out 
into  the  surrounding  country  and  then  move  on  to  fresh 
fields.  Such  a  method  is  frequently  pursued  by  publish- 
ing houses,  especially  in  the  sale  of  subscription  books, 
but  publishers  selling  to  the  retail  trade,  like  other  manu- 
facturers, have  their  regular  traveling  salesmen  assigned 
to  specific  territory  which  they  cover  at  regular  in- 
tervals. 

Systems  of  Traveling. 

Three  systems  are  used  by  roadmen  in  making  their 
territory;  the  regular-trip  system,  the  regular  district 
special  trip  system,  and  the  branch-office  system.  The 
first  system,  says  Dr.  Sparling,  is  the  most  common,  al- 
though the  second  has  a  large  place  in  distribution.  The 
last  system  is  employed  in  those  lines  where  the  goods 
must  be  brought  closer  to  the  customer  through  the 
means  of  warehouses  than  is  possible  by  operating  from 
the  home  office  only. 

"Before  the  salesman  leaves  the  office  a  list  of  cus- 


298  TRAVELING  SALESMEN. 

tomers  is  prepared  for  each  town.  The  standing  of  each 
customer  is  carefully  examined.  The  samples  are  then 
prepared  by  men  especially  employed  for  this  purpose, 
and  marked  by  the  heads  of  the  various  departments. 
Before  the  roadman  leaves  the  home  office,  he  must  be 
thoroughly  posted  on  the  entire  line  he  carries.  His 
method  of  getting  business  is  his  own.  The  good  sales- 
man never  truckles  for  orders;  honor  and  merit  are  to 
him  valuable  assets. 

"The  duties  of  salesmen  often  are  more  than  selling 
goods.  They  must  sell  to  persons  of  good  credit,  and 
avoid  overselling  to  those  of  slender  credit.  While  the 
orders  are  finally  passed  upon  by  the  credit  department, 
still  the  roadman  can  frequently  save  the  office  an- 
noyance by  exercising  judgment  in  taking  orders.  In 
addition,  the  roadman  can  render  valuable  service  to  his 
department  by  acquainting  it  with  the  conditions  of  the 
trade  of  his  territory.  He  can  report  the  changes  in  de- 
mand, the  opening  up  of  new  stores,  the  nature  of  com- 
petition, and  numerous  other  matters  of  great  import- 
ance to  his  house." 

Compensation  of  Roadmen. 

There  are  three  principal  methods  of  compensation 
employed  by  wholesale  concerns  in  dealing  with  their 
traveling  salesmen.  These  are:  1,  salary;  2,  commis- 
sion; 3,  salary  and  commission. 

The  salaried  salesman  is  usually  engaged  by  the  year 
under  a  contract  which  may  provide,  first,  that  the  sales- 
man shall  devote  all  his  time  and  energies  to  the  interests 
of  the  concern ;  second,  that  he  shall  do  a  certain  amount 
of  business  for  the  firm  during  the  year.  A  bonus  is 


TRAVELING  SALESMEN.  299 

frequently  paid  where  the  salesman's  annual  business  ex- 
ceeds the  stipulated  amount. 

The  traveling  salesman  is  usually  allowed  to  charge 
the  firm  with  his  actual  traveling  expenses,  these  being 
of  a  somewhat  elastic  character,  varying  with  the  policy 
of  the  house  in  this  respect.  Itemized  statements  of  the 
traveler's  expenses  are  generally  required. 

The  Question  of  Expenses. 

"The  liberality  of  the  house  as  to  expenses  is  governed 
largely  by  the  margin  of  profit  and  the  character  of  the 
trade.  The  best  houses  require  their  roadmen  to  travel 
well  and  to  frequent  the  best  hotels.  Municipal  supply 
houses  allow  liberal  expenses  to  their  roadmen,  because 
they  sell  on  a  wide  margin  of  profit  and  deal  with  city 
officers,  who  must  often  be  expensively  entertained. 

" Where  the  firm  does  not  require  the  full  services  of 
the  salesman,  he  is  usually  employed  on  a  commission 
basis.  The  goods  of  several  houses  may  be  carried  in 
this  way  by  one  salesman.  This  method  is  employed  by 
the  smaller  manufacturers  and  jobbers.  But  the  ten- 
dency is  for  the  smaller  manufacturer  to  turn  over  his 
selling  to  the  wholesale  distributer,  who  in  turn  has  his 
regular  salesmen.  Where  the  commission  plan  is  fol- 
lowed, the  salesman  usually  pays  his  own  expenses. 

"Where  the  combination  of  salary  and  commission  is 
used,  the  latter  begins  after  the  sales  have  aggregated  a 
given  amount.  This  plan  is  obviously  intended  to  spur 
on  the  salesman,  and  is  more  generally  employed  by  the 
larger  manufacturers  and  wholesale  houses." 

Selection  of  Salesmen. 

The  careful  selection  of  traveling  salesmen  is  most  im- 
portant for  every  business  concern,  because  the  house  is 


800  TRAVELING  SALESMEN. 

judged  by  its  representatives  and  the  quality  and  quan- 
tity of  the  business  done  by  the  concern  will  depend  very 
largely,  if  not  altogether,  upon  the  quality  of  its  road- 
men. The  selling  power  of  the  traveling  salesman  is 
very  largely  the  power  of  the  personality.  All  that  has 
hitherto  been  said  about  the  principles  of  salesmanship 
applies  to  him  in  the  most  marked  degree.  In  his  daily 
experience  he  has  to  bring  to  bear,  in  order  to  be  suc- 
cessful, all  the  varied  qualities  that  go  to  make  up  scien- 
tific salesmanship.  If  he  does  his  duty  loyally,  maintains 
his  self-respect,  and  thus  commands  the  respect  of  others, 
the  house  is  the  gainer  by  his  service. 

If  he  is  selling  a  regular  line,  his  power  and  influence 
may  be  expected  to  increase  year  by  year  as  he  becomes 
better  acquainted  with  his  regular  customers,  learns  their 
requirements,  and  can  anticipate  their  needs.  His  cus- 
tomers depend  upon  him  for  advice,  and  he  is  in  every 
way  a  credit  to  the  business  community. 

But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  traveling  salesman  is 
swayed  by  considerations,  not  of  loyalty  to  the  house,  but 
of  a  purely  personal  character,  he  may  easily  become  a 
detriment  to  the  concern  he  professes  to  represent.  His 
lack  of  interest  will  soon  betray  itself,  and  it  will  have 
its  effect  in  decreasing  sales  and  diminishing  respect. 

Control  of  the  Salesman. 

The  methods  used  by  sales  managers  to  maintain  con- 
trol over  their  roadmen  are  nowadays  largely  a  matter  of 
systematized  reports.  Most  houses  require  a  daily  report 
from  each  man  who  represents  them  on  the  road.  This 
report  should  show  the  number  of  calls  made,  kind  of 
receptions  met  with,  sales  made,  expenses,  and  other  facts 
connected  with  the  day's  work  which  will  keep  the  sales 


TRAVELING  SALESMEN.  301 

manager  in  close  touch  with  what  the  roadman  is  doing. 
In  the  home  office,  the  movements  of  the  sales  force 
from  day  to  day  are  often  recorded  by  means  of  vari- 
colored pins,  tacks,  etc.,  inserted  in  a  map  of  the  selling 
territory.  The  salesman  is  required  to  keep  the  house 
fully  informed  as  to  his  route  and  dates  for  a  week  or 
more  ahead,  so  that  he  can  he  promptly  reached  at  any 
time  by  mail,  telegraph  or  telephone. 


"It  is  not  because  you  spend  four  hours  a  week  over- 
time on  your  books — but  the  fact  that  you  get  your  work 
done — that  gets  you  your  raise  of  salary.  The  business 
man  knows  he  pays  for  overtime,  either  in  dollars  or 
lessened  efficiency/' 


CHAPTER  XX. 

KEEPING  TRACK  OF  PROSPECTS. 

The  importance  of  keeping  track  of  inquiries  from 
prospective  customers,  and  of  keeping  the  names  of  all 
prospects  in  shape  for  ready  reference,  will  be  apparent 
to  every  student  of  salesmanship. 

One  of  the  functions  of  a  sales  department  is  to  keep 
track  of  prospects  for  the  information,  first,  of  the  sales 
manager,  and  second,  of  the  salesmen  in  the  field,  who 
are  thus  supplied  with  the  names  of  those  upon  whom 
they  may  profitably  call  for  business. 

The  salesman  himself  should  also  keep  information  re- 
garding his  customers  and  prospects  in  a  convenient 
form,  by  means  of  a  card  system  or  other  systematic 
record.  In  fact,  he  should  keep  two  kinds  of  record, 
namely,  an  index  containing  the  names  of  all  customers 
and  prospects,  and — equally  important — a  follow-up  sys- 
tem by  means  of  which  his  daily  calls  can  be  regulated. 
The  great  advantage  of  such  a  follow-up  system  is  that 
it  prevents  neglect  of  customers  and  the  overlooking  of 
good  prospects. 

There  are  many  methods  by  which  a  city  salesman  or 
a  traveling  salesman  can  keep  close  track  of  his  trade. 
The  manufacturers  of  card  systems  supply  a  form  of 
card  by  means  of  which  all  the  information  desired  by  a 
salesman  can  be  recorded  on  one  card.  As  soon  as  an  in- 
quiry is  received  from  an  individual  or  firm  in  the  sales- 

303 


304  KEEPING   TBACK  OF  PROSPECTS. 

man's  territory,  he  makes  out  a  card  for  this  individual 
or  firm.  This  will  contain  the  name  of  the  prospect,  also 
the  address,  business,  phone  number,  name  of  buyer, 
name  of  the  salesman,  descriptions  of  catalogues  sent, 
prices  quoted,  and  remarks.  The  same  thing  is  done 
when  a  salesman  learns  that  an  individual  or  firm  in  his 
territory  is  now  or  soon  will  be  in  the  market  for  goods, 
or  when  a  first  order  is  received  from  any  concern. 

The  card  may  also  contain  a  blank  space  in  which  to 
enter  the  make  or  line  of  goods  which  the  prospect  or 
customer  is  using,  also  a  space  for  the  date  of  last  call, 
etc.  It  is  often  important  to  enter  for  reference  the  line 
of  goods  or  kind  of  equipment  or  system  which  the  pros- 
pect is  now  using,  and  this  can  be  discovered  by  observa- 
tion by  the  salesman  on  his  first  call.  The  information 
is  often  secured  through  correspondence,  sometimes  from 
the  first  letter  of  inquiry  received.  This  gives  the  sales- 
man a  line  upon  the  competition  which  he  will  have  to 
meet. 

In  the  course  of  dealings  with  the  customer  or  with 
the  prospect,  until  he  is  sold,  it  is  advisable  to  keep  mem- 
oranda showing  the  results  of  interviews,  appointments, 
etc.,  and  these  should  be  carefully  entered  at  the  close  of 
every  day's  work  in  the  space  provided  for  remarks  at 
the  bottom  of  the  card. 

The  Card  Index. 

These  cards  when  properly  filled  out  are  filed  in  the 
usual  way  to  form  an  alphabetical  card  index,  which  con- 
tains information  regarding  every  customer  and  pros- 
pect in  the  salesman's  territory. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  cards  will  soon  fall  into  three 
classes : 


KEEPING  TRACK  OF  PROSPECTS.  305 

(a)  Prospective  customers,  who  may  be  sold  at  any 
time. 

(b)  Individuals  and  firms  that  may  be  sold  at  cer- 
tain times  in  the  future. 

(c)  Firms  that  buy  regularly  and  upon  whom  the 
salesman  must  call  at  regular  intervals. 

These  three  classes  of  cards  need  not  be  filed  separ- 
ately, but  may  be  all  included  in  one  alphabetical  index, 
if  they  are  distinguished  say  by  means  of  clips  placed  on 
the  cards  in  different  positions  according  to  the  class. 
Thus  the  prospects  who  have  never  bought  from  the 
salesman,  and  old  customers  whom  he  wishes  to  sell 
again,  may  be  indicated  by  having  a  clip  put  over  the 
extreme  left-hand  corner  of  their  respective  cards.  The 
second  class  may  be  indicated  by  having  clips  placed  over 
the  middle  of  the  cards,  and  the  prospects  of  the  third 
class,  or  regular  customers  to  be  called  on  periodically, 
may  have  the  clips  attached  at  the  right-hand  corner  of 
the  card. 

The  Follow-Up  File. 

At  the  beginning  of  each  month,  the  salesman  may 
remove  from  his  alphabetical  file  the  cards  of  firms  of 
the  first  class,  that  is,  those  whom  he  is  endeavoring  to 
sell  and  those  that  have  made  inquiries  regarding  his 
goods,  whom  he  wishes  to  see  during  the  ensuing  month. 
These  cards  he  can  then  distribute  in  a  follow-up  file  for 
daily  use.  This  file  should  contain  daily  and  monthly 
guide  cards.  The  cards  removed  from  the  alphabetical 
index  should  be  so  placed  in  the  follow-up  file  as  to  come 
regularly  to  hand  on  the  dates  on  which  the  salesman 
deems  it  best  to  make  his  calls. 

I.B.L.  Vol.  2 — 20 


306  KEEPING  TRACK  OF  PROSPECTS. 

On  a  given  date  later  in  the  month,  the  salesman  may 
remove  from  his  alphabetical  index  the  second  class  of 
cards,  which  have  clips  attached  in  the  middle  or  over 
a  date  about  the  middle  of  the  month.  These  may  like- 
wise be  distributed  in  the  follow-up  file  on  suitable  dates 
for  making  the  calls. 

At  the  end  of  the  month,  the  salesman  removes  from 
his  alphabetical  index  cards  having  the  clips  at  the  right- 
hand  side  or  over  the  end  of  the.month,  these  being  cards 
of  regular  customers.  He  knows  just  how  to  distribute 
them  to  the  best  advantage  in  his  follow-up  file,  so  as  to 
come  up  on  the  days  when  he  wishes  to  call  upon  these 
customers  during  the  ensuing  month. 

A  Working  Partner. 

Under  this  system,  the  follow-up  file  becomes  the  active 
memory  partner  of  the  salesman.  It  is  not  necessary 
for  him  to  refer  to  his  alphabetical  file  except  three  or 
four  times  a  month  as  indicated,  or  when  mail  or  tele- 
phone inquiries  are  received  from  one  of  the  customers 
or  prospects  already  indexed,  when  he  may  refer  to  his 
alphabetical  file  to  refresh  his  memory  of  facts  regard- 
ing the  individual  or  firm. 

At  the  beginning  of  each  day's  work,  the  salesman 
takes  from  his  follow-up  file  the  cards  of  the  various 
classes  that  he  finds  indicated  by  the  guide  of  that  date. 
These  he  arranges  in  convenient  order  for  making  the 
calls,  and  then  has  a  definite  day's  work  laid  out  for  him. 

After  each  call  upon  a  customer,  proper  remarks  re- 
garding the  interview  are  entered  upon  the  card  with 
future  dates  of  call,  etc.,  and  the  card  is  then  returned  to 
the  alphabetical  file  properly  clipped  to  indicate  its  class, 


KEEPING  TRACK  OF  PROSPECTS.  307 

and  receives  the  same  handling  each  month;  but  if  an- 
other call  upon  the  customer  or  prospect  is  to  be  made 
within  a  month,  the  card  is  placed  under  the  proper  date 
in  the  follow-up  file  instead  of  being  returned  to  the  al- 
phabetical index  file. 

Sales  Department  Records. 

A  modern  sales  department  keeps  similar  indexes  and 
files,  but  usually  on  a  more  elaborate  plan.  There  are 
various  kinds  of  customers'  lists  by  which  salesmen  and 
sales  managers  can  keep  in  touch  with  their  trade. 

An  important  feature  of  a  sales  department's  work 
is  the  keeping  track  of  inquiries  received  through  pub- 
licity and  special  advertising.  A  typical  system  is  that 
devised  by  Mr.  A.  G.  Langworthy,  manager  of  the  ad- 
vertising department  of  Fairbanks,  Morse  &  Company, 
Chicago,  well-known  manufacturers  of  engines,  scales, 
etc.,  whose  branch  houses  cover  the  United  States  from 
New  York  to  Seattle.  The  system  includes  a  weekly 
report  to  the  Prospect  Department  for  each  of  the 
branch  houses.  This  report  is  made  on  a  blank  form  en- 
titled "Record  of  Inquiries  Received  and  Sales  Made 
from  Prospects."  This  weekly  report  shows  the  depart- 
ment, territory  of  salesman,  source  of  inquiry  (key  num- 
ber and  letter,  if  any),  number  of  inquiries  received, 
amount  of  sales,  etc.  The  number  of  inquiries  received 
from  each  source  and  the  amount  of  sales  from  each 
source  are  also  clearly  indicated.  The  information  con- 
tained in  the  salesmen's  daily  reports  is  embodied  in  the 
weekly  report  of  the  branch. 

The  following  instructions  for  handling  inquiries  are 
issued  to  the  branch  houses  with  the  blank  forms  of  re- 
port: 


308  KEEPING  TRACK  OF  PROSPECTS. 

Suggestions  for  Handling  Inquiries. 

"1.  Thousands  of  dollars  are  invested  every  year  in 
advertising  by  Fairbanks,  Morse  &  Co.  Unless  you  re- 
cord results  and  report  same  on  this  form,  we  are  unable 
to  show  any  results  for  the  money  spent.  We  are  un- 
able to  show  which  mediums  pay  best  and  are  unable  to 
eliminate  the  poor  ones. 


PSOSPECT    CARDS. 


KEEPING  TRACK  OF  PROSPECTS.  309 

"2.  Record  every  inquiry,  whether  good  or  bad,  on 
this  form  as  soon  as  mail  is  opened.  It  is  important  that 
the  'Source'  be  shown,  as  the  value  of  all  publications  and 
other  sources  of  information  to  Fairbanks,  Morse  &  Co., 
whether  located  in  your  territory  or  not,  is  gauged  by 
the  records  compiled  at  Chicago  from  these  Branch 
House  reports. 

"3.  Provide  some  means  to  keep  record  of  the 
'Source'  with  each  prospect  until  sale  is  made — see 
Binder  Form,  and  tab  Prospect  Cards. 

"4.  Record  on  this  form,  all  sales  made  from  'Key 
Numbers,'  'Publications,'  'Construction  or  Trade  Re- 
ports,' or  'Form  Letters'  showing  exactly  the  'Source' 
of  each. 

"Follow  Ups." 

"5.  Study  the  original  advertisement  which  brought 
the  inquiry  and  then  word  your  letters  so  that  they  de- 
velop the  same  line  of  thought  which,  through  the  ad- 
vertisement, first  aroused  the  interest  of  the  prospect. 
Then  write  letters  that  will  educate  and,  at  the  same  time, 
compel  a  reply  without  being  offensive.  You  are  not 
making  much  headway  until  your  leters  bring  replies. 
You  are  not  getting  results  unless  your  salesmen  are 
landing  orders. 

"6.  Same  date  inquiries  and  trade  reports  are  re- 
ceived write  first  form  letter  to  prospect. 

"7.     Also  write  first  form  letter  to  your  salesman. 

"8.  One  week  later  write  second  form  letter  to  the 
prospect. 

"9.     Also  write  second  form  letter  to  salesman. 


310  KEEPING  TRACK  OF  PROSPECTS. 

"10.  Inquiries  or  trade  reports  that  are  not  good 
enough  to  refer  to  salesman  might  be  developed  into  live 
prospects  entirely  by  form  letters. 

,    "11.     When  writing  prospects  always  word  your  let- 
ters so  that  the  party  will  feel  that  he  ought  to  reply. 

"12.  Always  leave  the  way  open  so  that  you  can 
write  again  even  though  the  prospect  has  been  referred 
to  the  salesman. 

"13.  Do  not  write  a  letter  in  answer  to  inquiries  that 
will  keep  the  party  from  advising  you  in  case  he  wants 
more  information  by  mail  should  the  salesman  not  call 
soon  enough. 

"14.  If  four  "Follow  Ups"  on  an  engine  inquiry  do 
not  bring  a  reply,  try  a  fifth  on  scales,  or  vice  versa. 

"15.  Also  the  use  of  proper  inclosures  might  develop 
a  prospect  for  scale  or  other  goods  than  those  originally 
inquired  for." 

Keeping  Up  Prospect  System. 

We  show  herewith  the  binder  form  devised  by  Mr. 
Langworthy  for  keeping  up  his  prospect  system.  The 
method  by  which  this  is  used  enables  a  convenient  record 
to  be  kept  of  all  inquiries  received  throughout  Fair- 
banks, Morse  &  Company's  organization.  Each  binder 
is  a  durable  folded  cover  of  heavy  manila  paper,  per- 
forated for  binding  inserts.  In  order  that  there  may  be 
no  lack  of  knowledge  as  to  its  proper  use,  the  following 
rules  for  keeping  up  the  prospect  system  are  plainly 
printed  on  the  back  of  the  binder: 


KEEPING  TRACK  OF  PROSPECTS. 


311 


lALESMAN    HANDLING 


BINDER   FORM. 


312  KEEPING  TRACK  OF  PROSPECTS. 

RULES. 

"1.     Keep  the  Prospect  System  strictly  up  to  date. 

"2.  Make  out  Binder  Form  and  prospect  card  for 
each  prospect.  Use  cards  with  number  tabs  one  (1)  to 
twelve  (12),  the  numbers  indicating  the  line  of  machin- 
ery called  for  as  follows:  1,  Agency  Engines;  2,  Me- 
dium Size  Engines;  3,  Large  Size  Engines;  4,  Mining; 
5,  Steam  Pumps;  6,  Dynamos  and  Motors;  7,  Small 
Scales;  8,  Railroad  Track  Scales;  9,  Wagon  and  Hopper 
Scales;  10,  Windmills;  11,  Pumps,  Pipe  and  Fittings; 
12,  Miscellaneous. 

"3.  Chicago  System.  (A)  File  the  binder  in  a 
vertical  file  tickler  under  the  date  to  be  returned  to  the 
department  for  attention. 

(B)  File  the  prospect  card  geographically  by  sales- 
man's territory  after  posting  the  date  to  be  returned  to 
the  department  wanting  same. 

(C)  In  this  system  the  cards  never  leave  the  pros- 
pect clerk  but  the  binder  with  the  correspondence  is  de- 
livered to  the  various  departments  on  dates  for  attention 
again.    The  card  is  placed  in  an  "OUT"  drawer  until 
the  binder  is  returned.     When  the  binder  comes  back, 
post  the  card  with  the  new  date  and  return  to  original 
files. 

"4.  Branch  House  System — (A)  File  the  binder 
alphabetically  or  geographically  in  a  vertical  or  other  let- 
ter file. 

(B)  File  the  card  geographically  by  salesman's  ter- 
ritory with  a  dating  (salmon  color)  card  in  front  of  each. 

(C)  In  this  system  the  binder  never  leaves  the  files 
unless  specially  called  for.    The  dating  cards  show  when 


KEEPING  TRACK  OF  PROSPECTS.  313 

the  prospect  card  should  be  taken  out  and  delivered  to 
the  department  handling  for  attention.  After  they  have 
received  proper  attention  cards  will  be  returned  to  the 
prospect  department  with  new  reference  date  to  be  filed 
as  originally. 

"5.  In  either  of  the  above  systems,  railroad  or  other 
prospects  can  be  filed  alphabetically  instead  of  geo- 
graphically and  without  regard  to  the  salesman's  terri- 
tory if  so  desired. 

"6.  Should  it  be  desirable  to  find  correspondence  pre- 
vious to  the  date  on  which  it  is  set  to  turn  up,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  furnish  the  prospect  department  with  the  follow- 
ing information :  , 

(A)  Salesman's  territory  in  which  the  prospect  is 
located. 

(B)  Prospect's  name. 

(C)  Prospect's  address. 

"7.  If  it  is  desired  to  have  certain  correspondence,  on 
which  the  prospect's  name  does  not  appear,  filed  under 
a  certain  prospect,  it  is  necessary  to  indicate  information 
(A)  (B)  (C)  under  Article  No.  6. 

"8.  Use  two  drawers  for  each  salesman's  territory, 
one  drawer  for  'live'  business,  and  a  second  drawer  for 
'sold,  lost  or  abandoned'  business. 

"9.  The  drawer  for  'live'  business  and  the  drawer 
for  the  'sold,  lost  or  abandoned'  business  should  each  be 
similarly  divided  geographically  by  the  town  cards. 

"10.  All  entries  on  all  cards  should  be  made  in  ink, 
not  pencil. 

"11.  Names  of  all  dealers  and  pluggers  should  be 
entered  on  the  town  cards. 


314  KEEPING  TRACK  OF   PROSPECTS. 

"12.  Never  file  a  salesman's  sale  prospect  report 
form  without  a  regular  prospect  card. 

"Distinction  should  be  made  on  the  prospect  cards 
under  the  heading  'business'  between  'dealers,'  'pluggers' 
and  'customers.' 

"14.  Under  the  heading  of  'source'  state  'form  let- 
ter No.  — '  'Adv.  Key  No.  — '  'called  on  us,'  'he  wrote 
us,'  'state  fair,'  from  'other  branch  house'  or  name  of 
salesman  sending  in  prospect,  etc. 

"15.  Under  the  heading  of  'remarks'  enter  the  size 
and  type  of  article,  and,  if  possible,  the  date  purchaser 
intends  to  place  order. 

"16.  Remember  the  column  headed  'calls'  or  'sales- 
man's report'  is  important  and  should  be  filled  out  care- 
fully as  it  indicates  the  amount  of  attention  given  by  the 
salesman  to  the  prospect. 

"17.  When  a  prospect  matures  the  card  should  be 
transferred  from  the  'live'  drawer  to  the  'sold,  lost  or 
abandoned'  (state  full  amount  of  sale  in  $).  Always 
give  date  and  salesman's  name;  also  always  give  brief 
particulars  such  as  'size  of  article,'  'name  of  successful 
competitor,'  'price,'  if  we  can  get  it,  etc. 

"18.  Never  destroy  a  prospect  card  without  consult- 
ing manager. 

"19.  Be  careful  to  report  to  Chicago  Advertising 
Department  all  inquiries  received  bearing  key  numbers 
or  inquiries  that  can  be  traced  to  any  publication  or  con- 
struction report;  also  report  all  sales  resulting  from  such 
inquiries.  Many  dollars  are  invested  in  our  advertising 
that  will  never  show  any  returns  unless  these  reports  are 
accurately  made  by  all  of  the  branch  houses." 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

Parti. 

By  the  psychology  of  salesmanship  we  mean  the  sci- 
ence or  sum  of  knowledge  concerning  the  mind  and 
mental  operations  in  their  relation  to  the  act  or  the  art 
of  selling  goods.  This  is  a  branch  of  study  that  may 
be  taken  up  by  intelligent  salesmen  who  are  interested 
in  understanding  certain  metaphysical  principles  which 
underlie  the  relations  of  buyer  and  seller,  or  the  mental 
phenomena  which  are  generally  recognized  as  occurring 
in  the  processes  of  selling  goods. 

We  have  already  stated  that  Salesmanship  is  both  a 
science  and  an  art.  Knowledge  or  science  becomes  an  art 
when  it  is  put  into  practice  or  applied  in  actual  busi- 
ness life. 

In  studying  the  psychology  of  Salesmanship,  we  must 
first  accept  the  basic  principle  that  the  salesman  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously  "appeals  to  the  intellectual, 
emotional,  and  volitional  nature  of  the  customer."  The 
knowledge  of  the  metaphysical  theory  of  Salesmanship 
is  an  advantage  to  an  expert  salesman,  because  it  en- 
ables him  so  to  guide  his  conduct  in  the  presence  of  the 
customer  as  to  bring  to  bear  all  the  powers  of  his  mental- 
ity in  aid  of  his  purpose,  namely,  the  proper  demonstra- 
tion of  the  goods  and  the  closing  of  the  sale. 

315 


316  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP* 

The  importance  of  this  theory  may  perhaps  be  over- 
estimated, but,  as  President  Hadley  of  Yale  University 
has  well  said:  "A  man  who  is  well  grounded  in  the 
theory  of  his  calling  has  an  immense  advantage  over  the 
practitioner  who  relies  chiefly  on  the  results  of  his  own 
short  experience.  ...  If  I  were  to  put  what  I 
mean  into  a  single  phrase,  I  should  say  that  every  man 
should  not  only  know  the  technology  of  his  profession, 
but  its  political  economy.  ...  I  believe  that  this 
conception  of  the  study  of  scientific  theory  for  its  pub- 
lic utility  will  promote,  rather  than  hinder,  the  work  of 
discovery  and  research.  One  of  the  great  difficulties 
that  we  have  to  deal  with  at  the  present  day  is  the  over- 
valuation of  those  parts  of  science  which  promise  a  def- 
inite and  tangible  result  to  the  public,  and  the  under- 
valuation of  those  parts  which  seem  abstract  or  remote." 

Confidence  and  Suggestion. 

It  must  be  remembered  at  the  outset  that  in  order 
to  make  a  sale,  the  mind  of  the  customer  and  the  mind 
of  the  salesman  must  agree.  Their  sensibilities  and  their 
wills  must  act  in  harmony. 

Remembering  this,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  this  harmony 
depends  to  a  very  great  extent  upon  confidence  and 
suggestion. 

In  order  that  the  customer  may  acquire  the  necessary 
confidence  in  the  salesman  and  in  the  house  that  he  rep- 
resents, it  is  necessary  that  the  salesman  himself  should 
have  confidence  in  himself  and  his  goods.  It  becomes 
his  duty  to  maintain  this  confidence,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
transmit  it. 

Without  going  into  the  laws  of  psychologic  phenom- 
ena as  they  are  understood  in  the  present  day  by  close 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  317 

students  of  metaphysics,  we  may  quote  the  following 
statement  of  the  elements  of  confidence  and  suggestion 
from  the  pen  of  an  able  writer  on  retail  salesmanship  :* 
"We  control  the  actions  and  feelings  of  persons  and 
are  controlled  in  turn  by  them  in  the  affairs  of  the  af- 
fections and  of  business.  The  history  of  man  is  replete 
with  a  show  of  psychic  force.  Legal  battles  have  been 
won,  not  alone  upon  logical  grounds,  but  through  sua- 
sion. .  .  .  Who  of  us  has  not  felt  the  overwhelming 
influence  of  some  eloquent  speaker  or  actor,  the  power 
of  whose  psychic  being,  the  consummate  expression  of 
whose  art  fascinated  the  mind,  swayed  the  sympathies, 
and  stirred  the  will  in  unison  with  his.  This  is  mental 
magnetism  of  the  highest  order,  in  which  the  positive, 
or  Objective  Consciousness  of  the  mind  is  held  in  abey- 
ance, leaving  the  negative,  or  Subjective  Consciousness 
of  the  hearer  open  to  suggestions  from  without.  In 
other  words,  it  is  the  action  of  a  positive  mental  force 
influencing  a  negative  mental  force.  Now  all  this  in- 
fluence of  one  person  upon  another  is  gained  by  the  con- 
fidence one  reposes  in  the  other." 

The  Basis  of  Confidence. 

The  confidence  of  one  individual  in  another  is  based 
on  securing  his  attention  and  on  the  broad  ground  of 
human  sympathy.  We  give  and  receive  impressions — 
such  as  an  impression  of  reliability  or  trustworthiness— 
sub-consciously,  that  is,  without  being  conscious  to  any 
extent  whatever  that  we  are  doing  so.  In  order  to  se- 
cure a  man's  confidence  in  a  business  way  in  selling 
goods,  it  is  necessary  first  of  all  to  secure  his  attention, 


*"The  Relation  of  Suggestion  to  Education,"  by  William  Amelius 
Oorbion. 


318  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

and  attention  is  "both  objective  or  intellectual  and  sub- 
jective or  emotional."  Thus,  for  example,  when  we 
show  a  customer  a  sample  article,  his  thought  and  at- 
tention are  outward  and  objective.  When  we  speak  of  its 
utility,  its  possibilities  of  profit,  or  its  popularity,  the 
customer's  thought  is  inward  or  subjective. 

Securing  the  Customer's  Interest. 

It  is  imperative  for  a  salesman  to  secure  the  interest 
of  his  prospective  customer,  and  in  order  to  do  so,  he 
must:  1,  know  the  goods;  2,  know  human  nature;  3, 
use  the  proper  words  in  the  proper  way ;  4,  use  the  proper 
actions;  5,  be  earnest;  6,  demonstrate  the  goods  prop- 
erly. 

1.  The  salesman  must  know  his  goods  thoroughly 
in  order  to  be  able  to  explain  them  to  advantage,  and 
thus  interest  the  prospect.    There  must  be  no  hesitancy 
or  doubtful  expressions.    His  statements  must  be  posi- 
tive and  convincing,  and  this  can  only  occur  when  he 
knows  all  there  is  to  be  known  about  his  goods.     He 
must  be  able  to  meet  objections  with  prompt,  decisive 
answers. 

2.  He  must  know  human  nature  in  order  to  be  able 
to  read  his  customer,  and  suit  his  words  and  actions  to 
that  particular  case.    He  must  also  have  confidence  in 
himself,  this  being  essential  before  he  can  inspire  con- 
fidence in  others. 

3.  His  language,  enunciation  and  voice  should  all 
be  suited  to  the  occasion.     The  words  used  may  not 
themselves  be  so  important  as  the  manner  in  which  they 
are  used.    It  is  not  what  you  say,  but  the  way  you  say  it 
that  impresses  the  customer  whose  attention  and  interest 
you  are  trying  to  secure. 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  319 

Let  the  speech  be  clear  and  deliberate.  Hasty  speech 
distracts  the  attention  of  the  customer.  He  must  be 
able  to  keep  up  with  your  description  of  the  goods.  One 
point,  therefore,  should  be  taken  up  at  a  time  and  thor- 
oughly explained  before  proceeding  to  the  next. 

The  customer  may  often  be  kept  interested  by  asking 
him  questions  and  thus  arousing  his  mental  activity.  You 
are  doing  yourself  no  good  if  you  let  his  mind  wander 
from  the  subject  in  hand  and  concern  itself,  not  with 
what  you  are  saying  or  the  article  you  are  demonstrating, 
but  with  something  entirely  different. 

The  voice  of  the  salesman  may  be  trained  to  be  pleas- 
ant and  well  modulated.  There  is  a  positive  charm 
about  an  agreeable  voice  which  influences  all  mankind, 
while  on  the  other  hand  many  men  are  repelled  by  a 
harsh  voice  or  a  sing-song,  monotonous  delivery. 

4.  The  manner  and  actions  of  the  salesman  should 
be  carefully  considered.     It  must  be  remembered  that 
one's  actions  may  convey  a  totally  different  impression  to 
that  which  the  mentality,  speaking  through  the  voice,  is 
trying  to  convey.     The  whole  attitude  of  the  salesman 
must  betoken  interest  and  command  attention. 

The  general  attitude  of  the  salesman  during  the  in- 
terview differs  with  different  lines  of  business.  The 
wholesale  salesman  may  either  sit  or  stand  while  he  is 
presenting  his  goods.  The  retail  salesman  stands. 

5.  Earnestness  in  one's  own  business  is  essential  be- 
cause one  cannot  communicate  an  interest  which  one  does 
not  feel.    Self-command  must  be  cultivated  for  the  vary- 
ing conditions  under  which  the  salesman  operates,  and 
steam  must  be  kept  up  by  self -encouragement.    Earn- 
estness of  purpose  makes  itself  apparent  to  all  and  its 


320  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

effect  upon  the  mind  of  the  customer  is  a  very  valuable 
aid  in  selling. 

6.  The  demonstration  of  the  goods,  no  matter  what 
they  may  be,  must  be  such  as  to  hold  the  attention  of 
all  the  senses  of  the  customer.  The  object  of  the  dem- 
onstration is  to  show  the  advantage  of  the  goods  and 
to  convince  the  customer  that  he  needs  them  in  kis  busi- 
ness, thus  leading  up  to  the  closing  of  the  sale,  when 
conviction  seizes  the  customer  that  he  needs  the  goods 
immediately,  at  which  point  he  is  ready  to  sign  the 
order. 

The  Use  of  Suggestion. 

Suggestion  or  mental  persuasion  is  of  constant  and 
important  use  in  salesmanship.  The  object  of  the  sales- 
man is  to  cause  conviction  in  the  mind  of  the  customer, 
and  a  desire  to  purchase,  through  a  mental  appeal  by 
facts  and  arguments  .and  also  by  a  description  of  the 
goods  that  will  appeal  to  the  customer's  sensibilities  and 
feelings. 

Here  let  us  clearly  distinguish  between  the  senses 
and  the  sensibilities.  We  perceive  things  by  the  senses 
and  the  things  perceived  appeal  to  our  sensibilities  or 
feelings. 

We  may  note  three  methods  of  suggestion  used  by 
expert  salesmen:  1,  Suggestion  by  Reason;  2,  Sugges- 
tion by  Sentiment;  3,  Suggestion  by  Credulity  or  Fear. 

1.  In  persons  whose  reflective  faculties  are  predom- 
inant, a  successful  appeal  is  made  to  their  reason  and 
they  are  impressed  by  statements  as  to  facts  regarding 
the  goods,  uses  to  which  the  goods  may  be  applied,  and 
other  concrete  arguments  of  a  like  nature.  Here  we 
see  suggestion  through  the  Reason. 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  321 

2.  In  imaginative  persons  who  are  swayed  by  senti- 
ment, an  appeal  is  made  to  their  love  of  the  beautiful 
or  the  curious,  etc.    This  is  suggestion  through  Senti- 
ment. 

3.  In  persons  who  are  of  a  passionate  temperament 
or  in  whom  the  passions  predominate,  Fear  or  Credulity 
may  be  appealed  to.     This  is  the  method  employed  in 
many  illegitimate  forms  of  business,  and  fortunately  not 
many  such  persons  are  encountered  in  legitimate  busi- 
ness, nor  does  the  scientific  salesman  often  employ  sug- 
gestion through  credulity  or  fear. 

Suggestion  is  found  useful  in  all  forms  of  education. 
We  must  believe  in  order  to  learn,  and  suggestion  being 
the  persuasion  of  the  mind,  all  education  is  therefore  the 
result  of  suggestion. 

An  Important  Weapon. 

Reason  or  Persuasion  is  the  chief  weapon  of  sales- 
manship. If  we  analyze  the  steps  of  the  transaction  in 
the  customer's  mind,  we  find  that  there  must  be,  first, 
Belief;  second,  Feeling;  third,  Conviction,  and  fourth, 
Action.  After  suggestion  has  induced  belief,  the  cus- 
tomer must  feel,  as  a  motive  for  action.  Persuasion 
moves  the  feelings  or  sensibilities.  It  arouses  pride,  pa- 
triotism, sympathy,  pity,  self-interest,  etc. 

The  object  of  the  salesman  is  to  cause  the  desired  feel- 
ing. Hence  we  find  that  demonstration  is  necessary.  The 
prospective  customer  will  not  buy  a  machine  because  he 
is  told  he  ought  to  buy  it.  The  salesman  must  show  him 
the  machine  and  arouse  the  desire  for  possession  by  the 
appeal  it  makes  to  the  sensibilities  of  the  prospect. 

The  salesman  must  himself  feel  in  order  to  awaken 
a  similar  emotion  in  another;  hence,  he  must  realize  the 

l.B.L.  Vol.  2—21 


322  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

merits  of  the  article  or  goods  himself  before  he  can  com- 
municate the  sentiment  desired.  In  some  cases  the  cus- 
tomer's sentiment  when  awakened  may  exceed  in  inten- 
sity that  of  the  salesman  himself. 

Changing  a  Sentiment. 

To  change  a  feeling  entertained  by  a  prospective  cus- 
tomer which  is  not  leading  in  the  desired  direction,  the 
salesman  who  wishes  to  avail  himself  of  the  power  of 
suggestion  must  agree  in  part  with  the  customer  and 
present  superior  points  in  favor  of  his  goods.  If  the 
customer  is  predisposed  in  favor  of  something  else,  the 
proper  presentation  of  the  advantages  of  the  article  or 
goods  the  salesman  has  to  sell,  if  skilfully  done,  will  re- 
sult in  changing  the  sentiment.  To  do  this  success- 
fully, all  the  knowledge  in  the  salesman's  possession  must 
be  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  his  customer,  so  as  to 
guide  his  mind  aright.  All  his  mentality  and  power  of 
will  must  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  problem  of  chang- 
ing the  feeling  in  his  favor. 

Mental  Processes. 

The  scientific  salesman  should  be  able  to  judge  of  the 
mental  processes  which  the  customer  is  passing  through 
during  the  sales  talk  and  discussion. 

It  is  a  great  advantage  to  have  a  well-considered,  log- 
ical plan  of  presentation.  The  strongest  argument  should 
be  left  till  last.  Step  by  step  the  argument  must  be 
built  up  and  various  weapons  must  be  brought  into  ac- 
tion. 

In  many  cases  the  strongest  appeal  is  made  to  the 
customer's  self-interest.  Show  that  the  article  will  save 
him  money ,  etc. 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  323 

Appeal  may  be  made  to  the  imagination  by  pointing 
out  the  possibilities  of  profit,  convenience,  comfort,  ex- 
clusive sale,  etc.  Thus  desire  is  awakened  and  when  this 
is  followed  by  conviction,  the  sale  may  soon  be  closed. 

Direct  Appeal. 

A  direct  appeal  to  the  intellect  of  the  customer  is  often 
effective  if  confidence  is  established.  In  this  method, 
the  salesman  may  show  comparative  values  in  favor  of 
his  goods,  and  then  follow  quickly  with  the  direct  appeal, 
"Are  my  facts  not  right?" 

There  is  here  a  subtle  flattery  of  the  intellect  of  the 
customer,  and  when  you  can  get  him  to  agree  with  your 
statements  in  such  a  way,  the  rest  is  comparatively  easy. 

Appeal  to  Emotion. 

By  appealing  to  a  customer  swayed  by  emotion,  the 
salesman  can  sometimes  profitably  show  the  results  of 
errors  in  judgment.  He  can  sell  more  expensive  art- 
icles, higher-priced  machines,  better  qualities  of  goods, 
by  pointing  out  their  advantages  and  dwelling  upon  this 
point,  thus  appealing  to  the  sentiment  of  pride.  He 
may  suggest  better  results  to  be  obtained  from  his  goods. 

Details  of  construction  often  captivate  the  emotional 
temperament.  These  should  be  carefully  shown  up  when 
dealing  with  customers. 

The  main  object  is  to  find  the  dominant  idea  in  the 
customer's  mind — the  point  that  particularly  appeals  to 
him.  This  may  be  the  utility  or  varied  uses  of  the  article, 
profit,  cost,  exclusive  sale,  etc.  Whatever  it  may  be, 
find  the  dominant  idea  and  build  up  the  argument  upon 
ft. 


324  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

Suggestion  in  Retail  Selling. 

In  retail  salesmanship  there  are  many  well-known 
selling  factors,  such  as  make  of  the  goods,  location  of 
the  manufacturer,  quality,  etc.  Thus,  the  salesman  may 
enlarge  upon  the  point  that  the  cutlery  comes  from  Shef- 
field, the  silverware  from  Connecticut;  that  the  cigars 
are  from  Havana  or  from  Manila ;  that  the  hat  is  a  Paris 
or  New  York  latest  style;  that  the  china  is  from  Dres- 
den; the  flour  from  Minneapolis,  etc. 

Customers  often  choose  superior  qualities  because  they 
are  shown  the  difference  between  them  and  inferior 
goods.  Their  pride  is  appealed  to  successfully. 

The  purposes  and  parts  of  all  articles  on  sale  should 
be  clearly  known  by  the  scientific  retail  salesman;  also 
the  detail  of  construction,  design,  finish,  etc.  In  selling 
articles  suitable  for  gifts,  he  should  be  acquainted  with 
their  sentimental  value  and  so  be  able  to  make  the  suc- 
cessful appeal  to  the  emotional  nature. 

In  all  forms  of  salesmanship,  it  is  a  good  idea  to  talk 
value,  not  price,  but  the  wholesale  salesman  must  have 
an  intimate  knowledge  of  prices,  discounts,  terms,  etc. 

Three  Essentials  of  Persuasion. 

In  order  to  command  attention  and  exercise  the  power 
of  mental  persuasion,  the  salesman  and  the  customer 
must  have  a  direct  and  immediate  relation.  Aristotle 
declared  that  there  are  three  essentials  of  persuasion, 
namely:  Good  Sense,  Good  Will  and  Good  Principle. 
Hill,  in  his  "Science  of  Rhetoric,"  says: 

"Good  Sense. — Men  are  willingly  led  by  those  in 
wJbose  judgment  they  have  full  confidence.  A  reputa- 
tion for  good  sense  is,  therefore,  of  value  to  one  who 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  325 

would  produce  mental  changes  in  another.  The  major- 
ity of  men  esteem  others  for  their  good  sense  in  propor- 
tion as  they  hold  similar  views.  It  is  of  great  practical 
importance,  therefore,  to  agree  as  far  as  possible  with 
those  whom  we  would  influence.  Happily  there  are  many 
facts  and  doctrines  upon  which  all  men  agree.  An  al- 
lusion to  some  of  these  points  of  agreement  brings  the 
speaker  into  closer  relation  of  influence  than  if,  these 
being  kept  out  of  view,  nothing  but  differences  should 
be  advanced. 

"Good  Will. — If  one  were  possessed  of  good  sense 
and  good  principles,  it  would  seem  as  if  good  will  would 
scarcely  need  to  be  added,  since  ability  would  insure  a 
clear  apprehension  of  truth,  and  integrity  would  lead 
one  to  a  candid  statement  of  convictions.  But  while  one 
might  on  these  grounds  be  supposed  to  have  at  heart  the 
best  interests  of  those  addressed  as  he  viewed  them,,  if 
he  were  hostile  to  their  cherished  opinions,,  he  would  have 
comparatively  little  influence  with  the  prepossessed. 
Hence  Aristotle  had  good  reason  for  mentioning  this 
quality. 

"Good  Principle. — A  character  for  good  sense  and 
good  will  might  seem  sufficient  qualification  for  a 
speaker  or  writer  [or  for  a  salesman],  since  the  former 
quality  would  imply  the  ability  and  the  latter  the  dis- 
position to  give  the  best  advice  without  reference  to  moral 
principle.  Aristotle  maintained  that  a  reputation  for 
integrity  is  equally  necessary,  for,  although  a  man  can- 
not be  wanting  in  good  will  toward  himself,  yet  able 
men  often  act  absurdly  in  their  own  affairs,  being  so 
blinded  by  passion  as  to  sacrifice  the  expedient  for  the 
agreeable.  Such  men  are  not  likely  to  be  better  coun- 
selors of  others  than  of  themselves." 


326  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

Elements  of  Suggestive  Salesmanship. 

Mr.  Corbion  in  the  work  referred  to  above  has  charted 
the  psychological  elements  of  suggestive  salesmanship 
for  retail  selling,  and  names  the  various  appeals  that 
may  be  made  to  the  intellect,  to  the  emotions,  and  to  the 
will,  as  follows: 

1.  In  appealing  to  the  Intellectual  Mind,  the  appeal 
can  be  made  to: 

(a)  The  faculty  of  judgment  of  Quality,  Use, 
Purpose,  Value,  Construction  or  Comparison. 

(b).  The  sense  of  Ideality,  of  Beauty,  Imagina- 
tion, Economy,  or  Humor. 

2.  In  appealing  to  the  Emotional  Mind  or  the  feel- 
ings, the  appeal  is: 

(a)  To  the  sentiment  of  Benefit  or  Value,  Pride 
or  Self-Esteem,  Approbation  or  Compliment,  Curiosity 
or  Wonder,  Love  of  Home,  etc. 

(b)  To  the  instinct  of  Parental  Love,  Prudence 
or  Policy,  Acquisitiveness  or  Caution. 

8.  In  appealing  to  the  Volitional  Mind  or  Will — De- 
cision, Conviction,  Execution  and  Conclusion  result  in 
purchase  by  an  appeal  to  the  faculties  or  feelings.  This 
is  suggestive  salesmanship. 

There  may  also  be  appeals  to  the  lower  propensities 
or  passions  as  already  stated,  but  this  is  generally  re- 
garded as  undesirable  salesmanship. 

Action  in  Suggestion. 

As  an  element  of  selling  power,  suggestive  action  is 
often  of  great  value.  It  can  be  simply  illustrated  by  the 
example  of  a  salesman  showing  an  athletic  apparatus. 
He  may  dilate  at  great  length  upon  the  value  of  the  de- 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  327 

vice  and  fail  to  awaken  desire;  but  let  him  strike  the 
punching  bag  or  use  the  dumbbells,  or  the  exerciser,  or 
the  rowing-machine,  and  his  action  at  once  awakens  the 
feeling  of  desire.  Here  we  see  the  value  of  a  practical 
demonstration.  This  ought  never  to  be  lost  sight  of  in 
salesmanship. 

Demonstrate  the  goods  whenever  possible  in  the  most 
thorough  and  practical  way.  The  salesman  "should  cul- 
tivate his  powers  of  observation,  imagination  and  inven- 
tion. He  should  be  an  active  thinking  being  who  adapts 
himself  to  circumstances  or  controls  them  as  occasion 
demands." 

Corbion  deduces  the  following  as  the  Law  of  Sug- 
gestive Salesmanship: 

"With  concrete  knowledge  of  goods,  abstract  knowl- 
edge of  human  nature,  and  the  powers  of  observation 
and  application,  the  salesman  can  make  suggestions  of 
profit  to  himself  and  of  value  to  his  customer" 


"Most  of  us  need  time  in  which  to  make  money — to  cul- 
tivate friendship — to  read  good  books — to  learn  how  to  do 
our  work  to  the  best  advantage — but  we  have  to  work  so 
hard  hustle  so  much  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  little 
things,  the  mass  of  crowding  details,  that  we  seldom  have 
a  chance  to  do  more  than  make  a  living. 

"What  the  most  of  us  should  do  is  to  determine  to  give 
ourselves  a  chance !" 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

Part  2. 

While  there  is  no  great  mystery  about  the  methods 
of  scientific  salesmanship,  it  is  true  that  many  sales- 
men have  never  been  able  to  formulate  in  their  own 
minds  the  precise  manner  in  which  their  successes  have 
been  achieved.  They  know  that  certain  methods  of  ap- 
proach, of  demonstration,  and  of  closing  will  win  orders, 
but  they  do  not  realize  to  the  fullest  extent  the  power 
of  the  human  mind.  This  power  is  largely  of  a  mag- 
netic nature,  and  we  shall  presently  see  how  one  mind 
acts  upon  another  very  much  as  a  magnet  acts  upon 
steel.  We  know  that  while  one  pole  of  a  magnet  at- 
tracts, the  other  repulses,  and  we  also  know  that  there 
are  certain  conditions  of  the  human  mind  expressed  in 
words  and  actions,  which  attract  other  minds  and  lead 
them  in  the  same  direction,  while  other  conditions  find- 
ing similar  expression  repel  the  person  addressed. 

A  good  deal  of  the  pleasure  derived  from  successful 
salesmanship  is  found  in  a  knowledge  of  the  methods 
by  which  it  is  accomplished.  The  salesman  who  does 
not  know  just  why  he  succeeds  or  fails  in  making  a  sale, 
loses  much  of  the  actual  enjoyment  he  might  derive 
from  his  work.  He  may  possess  all  the  requisite  facul- 
ties and  talents  required  for  success,  but  if  these  are 
not  exercised  or  applied  aright,  or  if  they  are  applied 

329 


330  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

in  a  haphazard  fashion,  the  salesman  will  fail  of  success. 
It  is  therefore  a  good  thing  to  comprehend  why  the 
effect  of  such  and  such  an  attitude  or  method  has  a 
certain  effect.  In  other  words,  a  salesman  should  under- 
stand his  work  thoroughly  and  be  able  to  apply  with 
understanding  all  the  faculties  and  talents  in  his  pos- 
session. 

Lack  of  Understanding. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  many  men  meet  with  success  in 
selling  goods  without  knowing  just  how  they  accom- 
plish their  purpose.  They  work  hard  and  earnestly,  but 
without  an  understanding  of  the  mental  effect  upon 
their  customers  even  of  the  earnestness  which  they  bring 
to  bear  as  an  aid  to  their  efforts. 

Some  of  these  men  rest  satisfied  with  their  accom- 
plishments and  do  not  take  the  trouble  to  discover  how 
they  are  achieved.  Such  men  do  not  know  themselves, 
and  it  will  surely  pay  them  to  learn. 

It  is  men  of  this  class  that  are  sometimes  called  "born" 
salesmen.  Exercising  in  their  daily  business  life  the 
qualities  of  scientific  salesmanship,  they  do  so  uncon- 
sciously. If  they  depart  from  their  regular  methods, 
they  are  very  apt  to  fail  in  landing  the  customer  and 
their  lack  of  exact  knowledge  prevents  them  from  as- 
cribing the  failure  to  its  exact  cause.  Hence  it  is  well 
for  such  men  to  wake  up  to  the  necessity  of  making  a 
study  of  themselves  and  their  methods,  with  a  view  to 
systematizing  their  work  along  the  lines  of  approved 
scientific  salesmanship  principles. 

The  same  is  true  of  salesmen  who  go  about  their  work 
in  a  slipshod  fashion,  absolutely  without  regard  to  rule, 
principle,  or  precedent,  trusting  to  luck  for  sales,  to 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  331 

chance  for  prospects,  and  to  their  own  self-confidence 
and  so-called  experience  to  help  them  out  in  each  individ- 
ual sale.  The  experience  of  these  men  being  often  an 
experience  only  of  failure,  helps  them  but  little  and  is 
better  forgotten.  They  would  do  well  to  wipe  off  their 
mental  slate  and  start  afresh  in  a  course  of  self -train- 
ing, to  include  a  study  of  the  mental  conditions  of  sales- 
man and  customer  during  the  who]e  transaction  leading 
up  to  a  sale. 

Self -Examination  Necessary. 

The  question,  Why  am  I  a  success?  or,  Why  am  I  a 
failure  ?  should  be  asked  by  every  salesman  regularly  and 
persistently.  The  scientific  salesman  will  go  even  far- 
ther than  this  and  will  diagnose  every  individual  sale 
he  makes,  making  a  mental  record  of  the  results  of  his 
diagnosis  for  future  reference.  How  many  men  we 
meet  who  ascribe  all  their  failures  to  conditions  that  have 
really  very  little  to  do  with  the  case!  If  they  fail  to 
sell  a  customer,  they  ascribe  the  failure  to  hard  times, 
tightness  of  money,  failure  of  crops,  financial  unrest, 
labor  troubles,  political  campaigns,  tariff  debates,  and 
the  like,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  other  salesmen  in 
the  same  business,  proceeding  along  more  scientific  lines, 
are  selling  goods  every  day,  while  they  bemoan  their 
lack  of  "luck." 

The  power  of  mentality,  the  influence  of  mind  upon 
mind,  is  disregarded  by  the  unsuccessful  salesman  in 
such  cases. 

A  Mighty  Motive  Power. 

"Practical  psychology  is  a  mighty  motive  power  in 
business  getting,  and  is  receiving  marked  attention  on 


332  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

the  part  of  thinking  men  in  various  walks  of  business 
life,"  said  Mr.  Walter  D.  Moody,  general  manager  of 
the  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce,  in  an  article  on 
this  subject.* 

"Selling  goods  is  not  physical  work — it  is  brain  work. 
When  two  men  go  into  the  forest  to  chop  trees,  the  one 
who  will  have  the  most  to  show  for  his  labor  is  he  who 
has  the  best  muscular  development  and  the  best  training 
in  the  use  of  his  muscles.  When  two  men  are  competing 
in  the  world  of  salesmanship,  .the  one  who  succeeds  is 
the  one  whose  mind  is  the  best  equipped  and  trained  for 
the  business.  It  is  neither  well  equipped  nor  well  trained 
unless  it  understands  itself  and  the  laws  which  govern 
it. 

"From  a  business  standpoint,  the  most  important  self- 
knowledge  is  the  discernment  of  one's  powers  and  the 
possibilities  of  their  development. 

"One  of  the  greatest  of  these  is  the  power  of  attrac- 
tion. Some  men  have  the  faculty  of  easily  winning  con- 
sent, from  the  majority  of  their  acquaintances,  at  least, 
to  almost  anything  they  propose.  The  test  of  this  qual- 
ity is  not  in  their  logic — in  the  arguments  and  reasons 
with  which  they  are  equipped — but  in  the  impulse  which 
the  listener  feels  to  agree  to  the  proposition  that  has  been 
advanced  before  hearing  all  the  evidence  which  he  would 
usually  require  before  making  up  his  mind. 

"Some  years  ago  a  remarkable  demonstration  along 
this  line  occurred  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  when  from  some 
previously  unheard  of  western  town  there  came  an  un- 
known congressman  as  a  delegate  to  a  national  political 
convention.  In  him  this  power  had  reached  a  wonder- 

*See  Mr.  W.  C.  Holman's  "125  Brain-Power  Business  Manual." — 
1907.  The  Salesmanship  Company,  Chicago. 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  338 

ful  degree  of  development.     It  had  an  irresistible  effect 
on  most  of  the  people  who  heard  him. 

"He  did  not  have  to  force  the  acceptance  of  his  views 
on  the  convention — the  convention's  acceptance  was  a 
matter  of  course  so  soon  as  he  claimed  its  attention;  the 
man  from  the  west  sprang  into  leadership  by  acclama- 
tion; he  received  unanimous  nomination  for  the  presi- 
dency of  the  United  States,  putting  all  other  candidates 
entirely  out  of  the  race. 

Soul  Power  or  Psychic  Force. 

"People  who  are  inclined  to  be  religious  speak  of  the 
'soul  power'  which  gives  its  possessor  some  measure  of 
control  over  others.  We  hear  of  ministers  and  mission- 
ary workers  who  are  practically  masters  of  whole  com- 
munities. Sometimes  they  are  opposed  and  even  per- 
secuted when  they  begin  their  work,  but  end  by  com- 
manding the  docile  obedience  of  the  persons  who  at  the 
start  made  trouble.  People  of  a  scientific  turn  of  mind 
describe  the  same  quality  as  'psychic  force.' 

"The  important  thing  is  not  the  name  given  to  such 
an  agency  as  that  which  enables  a  man  to  make  others 
see  a  fact  as  he  sees  it,  want  to  do  as  he  wants  them  to  do, 
and  accept  his  point  of  view  as  their  own.  The  vital 
question  is  whether  or  not  it  can  be  used  by  salesmen  as 
a  means  for  increasing  the  volume  of  their  orders. 

"Some  salesmen  have  demonstrated  that  this  can  be 
done.  They  seldom  hear  a  refusal.  Customers  who  are 
prejudiced  and  obdurate  forget  their  natural  combative- 
ness  when  a  salesman  of  the  type  we  are  describing 
appears.  He  gets  their  order,  sometimes  without  any 
argument  at  all  and  almost  always  without  any  diffi- 
culty or  waste  of  time. 


334  VSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

"It  seems  natural  that  everybody  should  agree  with 
him,  accept  the  ideas  he  advances  and  do  very  nearly 
what  he  wants  them  to  do. 

"Either  consciously  or  unconsciously  he  is  exercising 
what  has  been  variously  described  as  'soul  power,'  'psy- 
chic force'  and  'personal  magnetism.' 

Power  Can  Be  Cultivated. 

"There  is  no  doubt  that  the  power  of  attraction  which 
gives  one  man  ascendency  over  others  can  be  cultivated 
by  any  one  who  is  sufficiently  persistent  and  painstaking 
in  the  effort. 

"Psychologists  have  not  given  us  any  formula  for  de- 
veloping this  quality.  Any  one  who  is  interested,  how- 
ever, can  suggest  ways  and  means  for  himself  which 
will  help  toward  the  desired  end. 

"The  first  step  toward  accomplishment  in  this  direc- 
tion is  a  careful  study  of  the  successful  men  who  are 
described  as  'born*  salesmen,  and  who  get  their  results 
by  exercising  this  practical,  if  rather  indefinitely  known, 
mental  force. 

Effect  of  Earnestness. 

"It  will  be  found  that  all  men  of  this  type  are  very 
much  in  earnest.  The  intensity  of  their  earnestness  is 
a  magnetic  attraction. 

"Their  minds  are  filled  with  one  great,  superlative 
idea — success  in  whatever  undertaking  they  have  in  hand. 

"Their  earnestness  cannot  fail  to  have  its  effect  on 
every  prospective  customer  with  whom  they  come  in 
contact.  Besides  its  direct  effect  upon  the  man  ad- 
dressed, the  quality  of  earnestness  in  the  salesman  has 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  835 

also  an  immediate  effect  upon  himself  in  increasing  his 
powers  of  reasoning  and  self-expression.  By  stimulat- 
ing these  powers,  and  through  their  agency,  it  has  also 
an  indirect  effect  upon  the  customer. 

"Among  people  who  live  much  alone,  whose  labor 
exercises  their  muscles  and  not  their  brains,  a  common 
phenomenon  is  observed  which  is  significant  in  this  con- 
nection. We  are  all  familiar  with  cases  where  an  ignor- 
ant, stolid  fellow,  ordinarily  incapable  of  expressing 
himself  in  speech  very  well,  has  suddenly  found 
himself  gifted  with  eloquence  at  some  emotional  crisis 
in  life — eloquence  not  the  less  splendid  and  powerful 
because  of  grammatical  inaccuracies. 

"When  fliis  happens  the  mind  of  the  speaker  has  swept 
aside,  by  the  very  force  of  earnestness,  the  limitations 
which  hampered  it  in  ordinary  intercourse. 

"The  same  principle  accounts  for  a  man's  ability  to 
improvise  means  of  escape  from  great  and  sudden  dan- 
ger, which  would  have  been  entirely  beyond  his  ingenu- 
ity at  other  times. 

Harmony  with  Conditions. 

"The  second  step  towards  gaining  the  end  in  view  is 
for  the  salesman  to  put  himself  so  far  as  possible  in  en- 
tire harmony  with  all  the  conditions  under  which  he 
works.  To  do  this,  his  relations  with  his  house  should 
be  candid  and  agreeable — there  should  be  no  rankling 
remembrances  of  differences  which  he  may  have  had  with 
his  manager  or  others  in  the  house.  He  should  have 
absolute  faith  in  the  product  he  is  selling;  he  should  feel 
in  entire  sympathy  with  every  prospective  customer  with 
whom  he  talk*. 


336  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

"This  fact  is  a  most  important  matter.  Some  sales- 
men seem  to  think  that  it  is  sufficient  if  they  preserve 
the  outward  forms  of  courtesy  and  patience  and  con- 
sideration in  dealing  with  a  trying  customer. 

"Perhaps  the  customer's  objections  are  ridiculous  be- 
cause of  his  ignorance,  and  prejudiced  because  of  his 
narrow-mindedness.  It  is  necessary  to  get  down  to  first 
principles  and  improve  upon  his  education  before  he  can 
form  any  conception  of  the  value  of  what  is  offered  him. 
The  salesman  who  is  not  genuinely  in  earnest  will  hate 
this  slow  and  tedious  process.  He  will  talk  in  the  kind- 
est possible  manner  to  his  customer,  of  course,  but  men- 
tally he  will  be  calling  the  man  a  fool  and  wondering  how 
such  an  antiquated  specimen  managed  to  survive  the 
flood.  The  customer,  of  course,  hears  what  the  sales- 
man says  and  does  not  know  what  the  salesman  is  think- 
ing. Still,  he  is  very  likely  to  be  affected  by  the  negative 
thoughts  in  the  salesman's  mind.  If  he  gives  his  order 
at  all  it  is  because  he  has  either  been  beaten  in  argument 
or  made  to  feel  ashamed  of  his  own  conversation.  It  is 
certain  that  he  has  not  been  influenced  by  the  power  of 
attraction. 

No  Mental  Reservation. 

"The  salesman  who  is  really  in  earnest  would  under- 
take the  same  task  without  any  mental  reservation.  This 
at  least  would  leave  his  mind  free  to  devise  ways  and 
means  by  which  his  prospect  might  be  enlightened.  He 
would  have  a  quicker  insight  into  the  circumstances  that 
govern  the  case.  A  mutual  understanding  and  appreci- 
ation would  be  established,  such  as  exist  when  two  per- 
sons are  said  to  be  en  rapport — a  very  necessary  con- 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  887 

dition  before  one  mind  can  exercise  any  attraction  over 
another. 

"No  one  should  confuse  the  mental  action  described 
here  with  hypnotism,  or  anything  of  that  sort.  It  is 
not  recommended  to  make  an  attack  on  the  will  power 
of  a  customer;  for  that  is  neither  fair  play  nor  practi- 
cal business.  One  can,  however,  develop  a  power  to 
arouse  the  interest  and  good  will  of  others  so  that  they 
will  sometimes  do  voluntarily  what  a  hypnotist  seeks  to 
make  them  do  involuntarily.  Such  power,  when  ac- 
quired, assures  some  measure  of  success  at  least." 

Mental  Influence  on  Bodily  Functions. 

While  on  the  subject  of  psychology  it  may  be  well  for 
the  student  of  salesmanship  to  have  a  definite  under- 
standing of  the  power  of  mental  influence.  This  is 
clearly  seen  in  the  effect  of  various  conditions  of  the  mind 
upon  the  bodily  functions.  The  able  editor  of  Success 
has  pointed  out  some  of  these  effects  as  follows: 

"The  different  organs  are  especially  susceptible  to  cer- 
tain kinds  of  mental  influence.  Intense  hatred,  out- 
bursts of  hot  temper,  violent  fits  of  anger,  and  some 
forms  of  worry  have  a  very  irritating  influence  upon  the 
kidneys  and  materially  aggravate  certain  forms  of  kid- 
ney disease. 

"Excessive  selfishness  and  envy  seriously  affect  the 
liver,  while  liver  and  spleen  are  strongly  influenced  by 
jealousy,  especially  chronic  jealousy. 

"It  is  well  known  that  violent,  long-continued  jeal- 
ousy affects  the  heart's  action  most  injuriously,  as  do 
all  sorts  of  mental  discord,  such  as  worry,  anxiety,  fear, 
anger,  especially  where  they  become  chronic.  Multi- 

I.B.L.   Vol.  2—22 


888  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

tudes  of  people  have  died  from  heart  trouble  induced 
by  the  explosive  passions. 

"Jaundice  often  follows  great  mental  shocks  and  vio- 
lent outbursts  of  temper.  People  are  frequently  made 
bilious  by  long-continued  despondency,  fear  and  worry. 

"A  physician  says,  'I  have  been  surprised  to  find  how 
often  the  cause  of  cancer  of  the  liver  has  been  traced  to 
protracted  grief  or  anxiety/  Dr.  Snow,  an  eminent 
English  authority,  says  that  the  vast  majority  of  the 
cases  of  cancer,  especially  cancer  of  the  breast  and  uter- 
ine cancer,  are  due  to  anxiety  and  worry. 

"Sir  B.  W.  Richardson  says  that  irritations  on  the 
skin  will  follow  excessive  mental  strain.  'It  is  remarka- 
ble,' this  great  physician  says,  'how  little  the  question 
of  the  origin  of  physical  diseases  from  mental  influence 
has  been  studied.' 

"These  structural  changes  in  the  different  organs  are 
due  to  chemical  changes  in  the  development  of  poisonous 
substances  in  the  tissues  through  mental  influence. 

"As  the  entire  body  for  all  practical  purposes  is  one 
mass  of  cells  closely  bound  together,  every  thought  that 
enters  the  mind,  every  change  in  the  mental  attitude,  is 
almost  instantly  conveyed  to  every  cell  in  the  body,  which 
is  affected  according  to  the  nature  of  the  thought.  We 
are  nothing  but  a  mass  of  cells,  brain,  nerve  and  other 
tissue  cells,  and  the  whole  mass  is  very  sensitive  to  every 
mental  process. 

"In  a  sense,  the  body  is  an  extended  brain,  and  every 
thought,  every  mood,  every  emotion  is  transmitted  in- 
stantly to  the  remotest  cell.  If  the  thought  is  discordant, 
if  the  emotion  is  vicious,  it  will  carry  poison  to  the  far- 
thest cells. 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  339 

"Many  people  so  poison  theii  entire  system  by  habit- 
ual melancholy,  worry,  fear  and  other  discordant  phases 
of  thought  that  they  ultimately  wreck  the  physical  body. 

"Love  is  the  normal  law  of  our  being,  and  any  depar- 
ture from  the  love  thought  must  result  in  anarchy  of  the 
physical  economy;  because  the  law  of  our  being  has  been 
violated. 

"But  every  one  can  rid  themselves  of  their  pernicious 
thought-enemies,  enemies  of  the  mind  and  body,  if  they 
will  take  the  trouble  to  do  so. 

"It  is  not  difficult  to  shut  out  all  poisonous  thoughts 
from  the  mind.  All  you  need  do  is  to  substitute  the 
opposite  thought  to  that  which  produces  the  fatal  poi- 
son. It  will  always  furnish  the  antidote  of  the  latter. 
Discord  cannot  exist  in  the  presence  of  harmony.  The 
charitable  thought,  the  love  thought,  will  very  quickly 
kill  the  jealousy,  the  hate,  the  revenge  thought.  If  we 
force  pleasant,  cheerful  pictures  into  the  mind,  the 
gloomy,  the  'blue'  thoughts  will  have  to  get  out. 

"When  we  shall  have  learned  to  shut  out  all  the  ene- 
mies of  our  health,  of  our  digestion,  of  our  assimilation, 
the  enemies  which  poison  our  blood  and  other  secretions; 
when  we  shall  have  learned  how  to  keep  the  imagination 
clean,  the  thought  pure,  the  ideals  bright;  when  we  shall 
have  learned  the  tremendous  power  of  a  great  life-pur- 
pose to  systematize  and  purify  the  life,  then  we  shall 
know  how  to  live.  When  we  shall  have  learned  to  anti- 
dote the  hate  thought,  the  jealousy  thought,  the  envy 
thought,  the  revenge  thought,  with  the  love,  the  charity 
thought;  when  we  shall  have  grasped  the  secret  of  anti- 
doting  all  discordant  thoughts  with  the  harmony 
thought;  when  we  shall  have  learned  the  mighty  life- 


840  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP. 

giving  power  in  the  holding  of  the  right  mental  attitude 
and  the  awful  tragedy  and  suffering  which  come  from 
holding  the  wrong  mental  attitude,  then  shall  civilization 
go  forward  by  leaps  and  bounds." 

Coping  with  Antagonism. 

In  advertising  for  a  man  for  a  responsible  position,  a 
firm  stated,  among  other  qualifications,  that  he  must  be 
"capable  of  coping  with  antagonism." 

Evidently,  what  this  firm  wanted  was  a  young  man 
with  backbone  and  grit  and  stamina,  who  was  not  easily 
discouraged;  one  who  would  not  stop  or  give  up  when 
obstacles  confronted  him. 

Many  men  who  are  giants  when  everything  goes 
smoothly  are  completely  paralyzed  when  they  meet  with 
antagonism  or  friction.  When  everything  goes  their  way, 
when  there  is  no  trouble  or  hitch  anywhere,  they  are 
strong,  resourceful,  inventive;  they  impress  you  with 
their  power,  but  the  moment  they  strike  a  snag,  meet 
adverse  conditions,  their  courage  oozes  out. 

"I  have  in  mind,"  says  Dr.  Orison  Swett  Harden,  "a 
man  who  is  a  perfect  whirlwind,  who  can  accomplish 
marvels  when  everything  is  going  smoothly  in  his  busi- 
ness, but  if  one  of  his  chief  lieutenants  sends  in  his  resig- 
nation, or  if  he  has  differences  with  his  partners,  or  his 
firm  meets  with  any  loss,  he  is  immediately  shorn  of 
power  and  becomes  a  mere  pigmy. 

"His  mental  processes  are  completely  demoralized  by 
the  least  bit  of  friction  or  discord.  When  there  is  trouble 
anywhere  he  is  perfectly  miserable ;  when  harmony  is  re- 
stored he  is  a  giant.  I  have  never  seen  so  strong  a  man 
rendered  so  completely  helpless  when  he  has  any  trouble 
whatever,  or  when  things  are  going  wrong  anywhere. 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SALESMANSHIP.  841 

He  does  not  seem  to  be  himself  when  there  is  any  discord 
about  him.  He  is  nervous  and  restless,  uneasy,  unhappy 
and  weak,  but  when  everything  is  going  smoothly  he  has 
few  equals  as  an  executive  leader. 

"He  is  a  type  of  a  large  class  of  men  who  can  do  won- 
ders when  everything  favors  them,  but  are  no  good  when 
things  go  against  them. 

"Now,  the  really  strong  man,  the  man  who  is  made  of 
the  right  kind  of  stuff,  the  man  of  grit,  braces  up,  rises 
to  the  occasion  in  proportion  to  the  difficulties  to  be 
overcome. 

"I  was  recently  talking  with  a  young  man  of  this  kind 
who  occupies  a  high  position  in  a  large  firm,  and  he 
told  me  that  he  never  allowed  himself  to  go  to  the  pro- 
prietor with  his  troubles,  with  any  difficulty,  however 
great,  unless  it  was  one  which  might  seriously  affect  the 
firm's  revenues.  He  considered  that  he  was  paid  for 
solving  the  business  problems  that  presented  themselves, 
and  that  he  must  fight  them  out  alone  whenever  possible. 

'  That  is  the  kind  of  employee  that  is  wanted  every- 
where— the  man  who  can  solve  his  own  problems,  fight 
his  own  battles  without  running  to  his  superior  with  every 
little  difficulty  that  confronts  him." 


"  Selling  is  leading  a  horse  to  water  and  making  him 
drink." 

— James  H.  Collins. 


"Life  is  not  so  short  but  that  there  is  always  time 
enough  for  courtesy." 


"Nothing  great  was   ever  achieved  without   enthu- 
siasm." 

— Emerson. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
SELLING  AN  AGENCY. 

The  appointment  of  local  agents  to  represent  a  manu- 
facturer often  calls  for  the  exercise  of  genuine  salesman- 
ship qualities.  The  general  agent  must  first  find  the 
prospect  and  then  proceed  to  sell  him  an  agency  by  prop- 
er methods. 

Many  successful  salesmen  have  started  their  careers 
by  selling  books  which  is  rightly  regarded  as  an  ancient 
and  honorable  calling.  Many  famous  men  have  earned 
their  first  money  in  this  way. 

Some  large  publishing  houses  maintain  what  is  known 
as  a  General  Agency  department,  that  is,  a  department 
through  which  agents  are  sought  and  appointed  in  towns 
and  cities  of  all  sizes,  and  in  country  districts,  to  carry 
on  a  local  sale.  The  books  sold  by  this  plan  are  of 
varied  character,  including  popular  and  standard  works, 
family  bibles,  dictionaries,  cook  books,  histories,  biog- 
raphies, cyclopedias,  medical  works,  technical  works, 
and  the  large  class  of  special  volumes  called  forth  by 
great  disasters,  great  achievements,  or  political  up- 
heavals. 

The  work  of  appointing  the  local  agents  is  done  partly 
by  correspondence  and  partly  through  traveling  general 
agents,  who  seek  out  prospectives  in  the  territory  they 
cover,  appoint  them  and  train  them  for  the  work,  the 
usual  plan  being  to  secure  from  the  appointees  a  deposit 
to  cover  the  cost  of  the  agent's  outfit  and  first  order. 

343 


844  SELLING  AN  AGENCY. 

Detailed  instructions  are  usually  given  to  the  general 
agents  before  leaving  the  home  office,  and  these  are  also 
placed  in  their  hands  in  printed  form  so  that  they  may 
constantly  refresh  their  knowledge  of  what  to  do  under 
every  conceivable  set  of  circumstances. 

For  the  reason  that  such  instructions  to  general  agents 
are  equally  applicable  to  salesmen  in  other  lines,  we  give 
below  a  partial  set  of  the  instructions  given  by  a  large 
publishing  house  to  the  general  agents  who  work  under 
the  auspices  of  its  agency  department,  wrhich  covers  the 
entire  continent  of  North  America  by  means  of  several 
thousand  agents. 


1.    Qualifications  for  General  Agency  Work. 

(1)  A  willingness  to  perfectly  prepare  yourself  for 
your  work  by  studying,  mastering  and  following  these 
instructions  and  all  others  that  we  may  give  you  from 
time  to  time. 

(2)  Self -reliance  or  the  ability  to  depend  upon  your 
own  ingenuity,  judgment  and  resources,  and  the  per- 
severance necessary  to  overcome  all  obstacles. 

(3)  A  thorough  knowledge  of  each  of  your  books 
from  cover  to  cover,  so  that  you  can  intelligently,  en- 
thusiastically and  effectually  talk  up  their  merits  and 
selling  qualities  and  convince  prospective  agents  that 
they  can  make  money. 

(4)  A  good-natured  persistency  that  cannot  be  over- 
come.   Napoleon's  success  consisted  in  the  fact  that  he 
never  knew  when  he  was  conquered.    Be  a  Napoleon! 
Never  give  up !     Never  acknowledge  defeat ! 


SELLING  AN  AGENCY.  345 

(5)  A  willingness  to  devote  your  whole  time  and 
your  undivided  efforts  to  General  Agency  work.  Hand- 
ling other  articles  or  other  lines  of  goods  will  not  be  al- 
lowed under  any  circumstances. 

2.    What  Constitutes  Success. 

Your  success  in  General  Agency  work  will  consist  in 
your  appointing  first-class  Agents  and  in  your  collecting 
full  deposits  from  agents  appointed.  Our  most  experi- 
enced General  Agents  appoint  eight  to  twelve  canvassers 
week  after  week,  and  year  after  year. 

It  is  just  as  easy  to  secure  first-class  agents  who  make 
large  sales  (if  you  use  judgment  and  make  a  special 
effort  to  do  so)  as  to  get  worthless  agents,  who  never  sell 
any  books.  We  would  rather  have  you  secure  five 
agents  who  will  sell  one  hundred  books  each  than  fifty 
agents  who  will  sell  only  five  books  each. 

3.  Requirements  from  General  Agents. 
We  expect  you  to  begin  work  promptly  at  the  time 
agreed  upon;  to  perfectly  qualify  yourself  for  your 
duties  by  mastering  the  contents  of  this  book  and  all  other 
printed  or  written  matter  that  may  be  sent  you  from  time 
to  time;  to  thoroughly  and  conscientiously  work  all 
routes  that  we  assign  you  from  time  to  time ;  to  use  your 
best  judgment  in  the  selection,  appointment  and  instruc- 
tion of  canvassers ;  to  deal  honorably  and  uprightly  with 
all  the  canvassers  you  appoint,  making  no  verbal  or 
written  agreements  or  promises  except  those  that  we 
authorize  you  to  make. 

4.    The  Right  Kind  of  a  Start. 
Don't  waste  time,  money  and  strength  in  trying  to 
learn  General  Agency  work  by  experimenting,  but  fol- 


346  SELLING  AN  AGENCY. 

low  methods  that  have  been  faithfully  tested  and  that 
always  bring  success — methods  that  never  fail.  Use  the 
same  judgment  and  common  sense  in  learning  how  to  es- 
tablish agents  that  you  would  in  learning  any  other 
business,  and  don't  be  foolish  enough  to  imagine  that 
you  understand  all  about  it  before  you  have  thoroughly 
mastered  all  of  our  instructions  and  have  had  a  few 
weeks'  actual  experience  right  in  the  field.  Profit  by 
the  experience  of  our  most  successful  General  Agents  as 
outlined  in  these  instructions. 

You  are  not  undertaking  General  Agency  work  "for 
glory,"  or  "for  the  fun  of  the  thing";  you  are  after  the 
dollars  and  you  cannot  afford  to  work  in  an  experimental 
way.  To  acquire  skill  in  appointing  agents  requires 
time,  study,  hard  work  and  actual  experience,  just  as 
any  other  business  would. 

If  you  will  follow  our  instructions  and  prepare  your- 
self as  carefully  on  each  book  as  if  you  were  going  to 
sell  the  book  yourself,  and  learn  how  to  get  agents  in- 
terested in  the  book,  and  then  stick  to  the  business  long 
enough  to  give  it  a  good,  square,  honest  trial,  you  are 
sure  of  success.  You  cannot  fail! 

Some  general  agents  will  carelessly  skim  over  these 
instructions  and  pronounce  them  "first-class  in  every  re- 
spect," but  neglect  to  study  them.  For  your  own  good 
we  insist  upon  your  reading  these  instructions  through 
at  least  half  a  dozen  times  during  the  first  two  or  three 
weeks.  It  will  pay  you  to  do  this. 

Others  carefully  study  these  instructions,  but  do  not 
follow  them.  Take  our  advice  and  master  these  instruc- 
tions before  you  try  to  secure  a  single  agent.  Study 
one  feature  at  a  time.  When  you  thoroughly  under- 


SELLING  AN  AGENCY.  347 

stand  it,  take  up  another.  In  this  way,  find  out  every- 
thing you  can  about  starting  agents  before  you  actually 
commence  work.  Theory  first,  practice  afterward. 

5.    Necessity  for  Perfect  Preparation. 

Your  success  in  General  Agency  work  depends  more 
upon  perfect  preparation  than  on  everything  else.  If 
you  fail  in  this  you  fail  in  all.  If  you  attempt  to  secure 
agents  before  you  have  thoroughly  prepared  yourself 
for  the  work,  you  are  sure  to  fail,  and  you  deserve  to. 
If  you  had  only  four  weeks  to  establish  agents  in,  you 
could  secure  more  agents  by  spending  one  week  out  of 
the  four,  if  necessary,  in  preparation.  You  know  this 
as  well  as  we  do. 

The  first  thing  for  you  to  do  is  to  carefully  read  these 
instructions  through  four  or  five  times  to  get  a  correct 
general  idea  of  the  business.  Then  take  each  idea  here 
suggested  and  study  over  it  until  you  understand  it 
thoroughly.  Don't  leave  a  single  idea  or  suggestion 
until  you  have  mastered  it  and  made  it  your  own. 

6.    Examine  Your  Outfits  and  'Tost  Up." 

Your  first  and  most  important  step  toward  a  thor- 
ough preparation  is  to  examine  carefully  and  familiarize 
yourself  with  the  outfits  for  each  of  your  books.  Find 
out  what  the  titles  of  your  books  are — how  many  pages 
and  illustrations  each  book  contains — who  the  author  is 
—what  its  points  of  merit  are — why  it  is  needed—what 
features  are  specially  attractive  and  interesting.  In 
other  words,  find  out  why  it  will  sell. 

You  must  be  able  to  instantly  answer  every  question 
and  meet  every  objection.  You  must  study  each  book 
until  you  can  give  an  accurate,  rapid,  fluent  description 


348  SELLING  AN  AGENCY. 

of  it  and  be  able  to  awaken  a  tremendous  interest  in  it 
and  make  the  agent  realize  that  it  is  the  best  book  of  its 
kind  ever  published;  that  any  agent  can  sell  scores  and 
hundreds  and  make  money  by  so  doing.  You  can't  do 
this  unless  you  know  each  book  perfectly  from  cover  to 
cover. 

Nothing  but  the  most  thorough  knowledge  of  the  at- 
tractive features  of  each  book  will  enable  you  to  work  up 
a  prospective  agent's  interest  and  enthusiasm  in  the  book 
to  such  a  pitch  that  he  will  drop  everything  else  to  sell  it. 
This  is  the  secret  of  success.  Make  him  want  the  book 
himself!  Make  him  want  to  sell  it!  If  he  does  not  like 
the  book  or  thinks  he  can't  sell  it,  he  won't  take  the 
agency. 

It  is  absolutely  necessary,  therefore,  that  you  should 
post  up  just  as  thoroughly  and  just  as  carefully  on  each 
book  as  if  you  were  going  to  canvass  for  it  yourself. 
Memorize,  word  for  word,  the  Special  Description  or 
"How  to  Sell"  that  accompanies  each  book.  It  will  be 
money  in  your  pocket  to  do  this.  The  better  you  know 
your  books  the  greater  interest  and  enthusiasm  you  can 
wrork  up,  the  faster  you  will  secure  agents.  The  more 
confidence  you  have  in  your  books,  the  more  confidence 
you  will  have  in  yourself  and  in  your  ability  to  appoint 
agents. 

Think  up  special  reasons  why  the  book  will  sell  to 
ministers,  why  it  will  sell  to  teachers,  why  parents  will 
buy  it,  why  the  boys  and  girls  need  it,  and  so  on.  If  you 
can  convince  the  agent  that  the  book  you  are  showing 
is  the  best  of  its  kind,  that  it  is  outselling  all  others,  that 
hundreds  of  agents  are  selling  five  and  ten  copies  per 
day,  and  that  he  can  make  dollars  selling  this  book 


SELLING  AN  AGENCY.  340 

faster  than  dimes  in  selling  other  books,  he  will  take  the 
agency. 

Get  full  of  your  books.  Study  them  each  day.  Find 
out  everything  of  importance  from  cover  to  cover. 
Don't  make  the  fatal  mistake  of  trying  to  explain  to 
others  what  you  don't  know  yourself,  and  in  trying  to 
interest  others  in  what  you  are  not  interested  in  yourself. 
"Desire  precedes  demand."  Unless  the  prospective 
agent  is  convinced  that  the  book  is  first-class  in  every 
respect  and  a  big  seller,  and  that  he  can  make  money  by 
selling  it,  he  will  not  take  the  agency.  Keep  this  in  mind 
all  the  time. 

7.    Begin  Work  in  Your  Own  Town. 

We  advise  you  to  secure  two,  three  or  four  agents  in 
your  own  town.  You  probably  know  several  persons 
who  would  be  glad  of  a  chance  to  take  an  agency  and 
make  some  money  by  selling  our  books,  and  on  the 
strength  of  your  acquaintance  and  knowledge  of  these 
persons  you  can  easily  influence  them  to  take  up  the 
work,  and  thus  they  will  get  a  good  start. 

If  you  prefer  not  to  do  any  work  in  your  own  town, 
go  a  few  miles  away  from  home  and  start. 

8.    Begin  Work  at  Once. 

Begin  active,  aggressive  work  immediately.  Don't 
lose  a  single  hour.  Time  is  money.  Every  moment 
should  be  improved.  Nothing  can  be  gained  by  delay, 
but  much  will  always  be  lost!  The  quicker  you  begin 
work,  the  quicker  results  will  come. 

Some  General  Agents,  if  they  reach  a  town  an  hour 
or  so  before  dinner,  think  that  it  is  "too  late  to  accomplish 
anything  and  that  they  might  as  well  quit  work  for  the 


350  SELLING  AN  AGENCY. 

forenoon"  and  that  "one  hour  lost  will  not  make  any  dif- 
ference." This  is  a  fatal  mistake.  Begin  work  in  every 
town  with  the  firm  belief  that  there  are  two  or  three  first- 
class  agents  in  that  very  town  for  you  and  make  up  your 
mind  to  get  them.  There  are  plenty  of  persons  in  every 
town  who  will  take  the  agency  and  pay  you  a  full  de- 
posit, and  it  is  your  business  to  find  these  persons  and 
secure  their  service.  In  every  town  you  will  find 
"croakers"  and  "mossbacks"  who  will  solemnly  assure 
you  that  "you  can't  possibly  secure  an  agent,"  that  "peo- 
ple won't  buy  books,"  that  "agents  have  tried  it  and 
failed,"  that  "General  Agents  have  worked  two  or  three 
days  and  left  town  without  getting  an  agent,"  etc.  Pay 
no  attention  to  such  tales  of  woe.  Go  right  ahead  and 
get  your  agents  just  the  same. 

9.    Finding  Prospective  Agents. 

Your  first  work  is  to  get  on  the  track  of  suitable  peo- 
ple for  agents.  This  is  easy  enough  if  you  are  not  afraid 
to  talk  and  have  tact,  originality  and  ingenuity  and  will 
go  at  it  right.  Some  will  give  information  reluctantly, 
while  others  will  tell  you  more  than  you  care  to  know,  so 
don't  tire  people  with  too  many  questions.  If  you  learn 
the  names,  character,  peculiarities  and  the  part  of  the 
town,  you  can  easily  find  the  people.  A  large  number 
of  names  is  not  necessary  before  beginning  to  make  calls, 
but  after  beginning,  all  sources  of  information  should 
be  followed  up  closely  until  the  agents  are  secured.  Get 
your  information  as  quickly  as  possible  f  and  get  away! 
Don't  be  afraid  to  ask  all  the  questions  necessary.  Jot 
down  these  names  with  whatever  information  is  given 
you  concerning  each  one  in  your  memorandum  book,  and 
if  the  town  is  small,  call  on  these  persons  at  once.  This 


SELLING  AN  AGENCY.  851 

is  only  one  way  of  getting  on  the  track  of  agents.  A 
call  at  almost  any  residence  will  result  in  getting  names 
of  people  who  "would  like  to  earn  a  little  money"  Such 
references  are  most  valuable. 

10.    How  to  Talk  Books  and  Business. 

Don't  be  afraid  or  ashamed  to  talk.  This  is  the  only 
way  to  secure  agents.  People  expect  you  to  talk.  You 
cannot  do  justice  to  yourself,  your  business  or  your  firm, 
unless  you  do  talk.  Entertain  and  instruct  your  prospec- 
tive agent.  Make  every  sentence  count.  Be  earnest  and 
enthusiastic!  Running  over  with  interest  and  energy! 
Hold  the  agent's  attention  right  down  to  what  you  are 
talking  about.  Control  him  instead  of  letting  him  con- 
trol you.  Make  him  believe  as  you  do,  and  he  will  take 
the  agency.  Talk  naturally.  Don't  let  any  one  think 
you  have  "learned  your  piece."  Put  your  ideas  in  the 
strongest  and  most  pleasing  words.  Don't  exaggerate 
or  misrepresent.  A  single  exaggerated  expression  may 
make  the  agent  doubt  all  that  you  say  thereafter.  Do 
not  solicit  or  appear  anxious.  Very  few  persons  can  be 
coaxed.  Convey  the  impression  that  you  are  conferring 
a  favor  instead  of  asking  one. 

[The  general  principles  of  salesmanship,  as  laid  down 
in  previous  chapters  of  this  work,  apply  to  the  methods 
successfully  used  by  general  agents  in  approaching  the 
prospect  and  in  demonstrating  the  proposition,  so  that  it 
is  not  necessary  to  reproduce  in  detail  here  all  the  spe- 
cific instructions  on  these  points  given  by  the  publishing 
house  here  quoted  to  its  general  agents  in  the  field.  We 
may,  however,  quote  some  of  the  replies  suggested  when 


352  SELLING  AN  AGENCY. 

various  objections  are  raised    by   the    prospective    ap- 
pointee.] 


11.    Objections  and  How  to  Meet  Them. 

If  you  can't  in  some  way  overcome  every  possible  ob- 
jection that  any  agent  can  raise,  you  are  almost  certain 
to  fail.  People  will  bring  up  all  sorts  of  objections 
against  canvassing.  Some  do  this  merely  to  test  your 
ability  or  your  knowledge  of  your  books.  One  person 
will  raise  one  objection,  another  a  different  one  and  a 
third  will  think  of  something  entirely  different  from 
either,  and  to  secure  these  three  you  must  be  able  to  meet 
each  of  these  three  objections.  Every  objection — no 
matter  what  it  is — can  be  met  by  you  if  you  only  know 
how.  The  following  objections  will  most  frequently  be 
raised,  and  we  here  suggest  what  we  consider  the  best 
way  to  answer  them.  If  you  will  memorize  these  answers 
word  for  word  we  are  willing  to  guarantee  that  you 
can  meet  any  objection  that  any  one  can  bring  up. 

Objection:    "I  never  can  sell  books." 

(Reply)  :  "I  meet  hundreds  of  people  who  feel  the 
same  way  you  do  when  I  first  mention  the  business, 
but  when  they  see  how  attractive  my  book  is  and  how 
low-priced  it  is,  and  what  wonderful  success  other  agents 
are  having  with  it,  they  change  their  opinion  and  decide 
to  try  it,  and  these  very  same  persons  are  now  meeting 
with  splendid  success  and  making  money  fast.  You 
might  not  be  able  to  sell  some  books  that  require  a  great 
deal  of  study  and  preparation — books  that  people  are  not 
interested  in  and  that  are  very  high-priced — but  this 
book  almost  sells  itself.  Everybody  wants  it.  Hun- 
dreds of  agents  who  have  failed  with  other  books  are 


SELLING  AN  AGENCY.  358 

having  magnificent  success  with  this  one,  and  clearing 
from  $3.00  to  $7.00  each  day.  You  can  easily  see  why 
this  book  will  sell.  It  is  so  low-priced,  so  well  illustrated, 
so  handsomely  bound  and  is  needed  so  badly  in  every 
family  that  people  are  sure  to  buy  it." 

Objection:    "I  have  no  experience  in  canvassing." 

(Reply)  :  "That  doesn't  need  make  a  particle  of  dif- 
ference. You  don't  need  experience  to  sell  this  book. 
We  furnish  you  with  printed  instructions  that  explain 
just  what  to  say  in  describing  the  book,  and  just  how  to 
say  it.  These  instructions  also  tell  you  how  to  prepare 
yourself  for  the  canvass — how  to  approach  people,  how 
to  answer  their  questions,  how  to  meet  their  objections, 
what  to  say  about  each  page  of  the  canvassing  book, 
how  to  explain  the  different  bindings — in  fact,  every 
part  of  the  canvass  is  made  so  plain  by  these  instructions 
that  you  cant  possibly  fail  if  you  will  follow  them. 
Ninety-five  out  of  every  100  agents  I  start  haven't  had 
a  single  hour's  experience  in  canvassing,  and  they  sell 
just  as  many  books  as  experienced  agents." 

Objection:  "Times  are  too  hard;  money  is  too  scarce; 
people  can't  afford  to  buy  books." 

(Reply) :  "Times  are  hard,  money  is  scarce,  but 
this  book  has  been  gotten  up  to  suit  the  times.  This  is 
a  very  low-priced  book.  It  sells  for  only  —  dollars,  and 
the  poorest  family  can  afford  that.  Poor  people  who 
would  not  think  of  buying  other  books  are  buying  this 
one ;  besides  it  is  a  book  that  people  really  need,  and  you 
know  that  what  they  really  need  they  will  certainly  buy. 
Money  is  no  scarcer  in  this  town  than  it  is  in  other 
places  where  this  book  is  selling  splendidly,  and  you 
certainly  can  sell  7£  or  100  copies  right  arorund  here." 

I.B.L.  Vol.  2—23 


854  SELLING  AN  AGENCY. 

Objection:    "I  haven't  'cheek*  enough." 

(Reply) :  "If  you  did  have  'cheek,'  'brass,'  or  what- 
ever else  you  choose  to  call  it,  I  wouldn't  employ  you 
to  work  for  my  firm  on  any  basis  whatever.  We  don't 
want  that  kind  of  agents.  We  want  men  who  will  ap- 
proach people  in  a  gentlemanly  manner  that  will  please 
every  body  and  not  offend  any  one.  We  want  our  agents 
to  be  just  as  polite  and  pleasant  as  they  know  how  to 
be,  and  we  don't  want  any  other  kind." 

Objection:    "I  haven't  much  time  to  canvass." 

(Reply):  "That's  all  right!  Put  in  all  the  time  you 
can.  All  we  ask  is  that  when  you  get  a  spare  hour  or 
two  and  are  not  busy,  that  you  will  sell  just  as  many 
books  as  you  can.  The  more  time  you  put  in,  the  more 
sales  and  the  more  money  you  will  make  for  yourself, 
and,  if  you  will  agree  to  do  the  best  you  can  when  you  do 
have  some  spare  time,  we  will  be  perfectly  satisfied.  We 
have  thousands  of  agents  who  can  put  in  only  one  or  two 
hours  a  day,  but  they  make  big  money  for  the  time  they 
do  put  in,  and  they  are  perfectly  satisfied  with  their  sales, 
and  so  are  we" 

Objection:  "I  may  take  the  agency  some  other  time, 
but  not  to-day.  Give  me  the  address  of  your  firm,  and 
when  I  am  ready  to  canvass  I  will  write  to  them  for  the 
outfit." 

(Reply) :  "I  can't  possibly  do  so.  My  firm  has  gone 
to  the  expense  of  sending  me  here  to  secure  an  agent  on 
this  book,  and  I  must  appoint  an  agent  before  I  leave 
~:>ur  town,  and,  therefore,  this  is  the  only  chance  you 
will  ever  have  to  take  the  agency  for  this  book." 

Objection:  "People  don't  think  much  of  book  agents 
around  here." 


SELLING  AN  AGENCY.  355 

(Reply) :    "You  must  be  joking,  Mr. .    I  think 

an  agent  who  sells  a  first-class  book  is  doing  more  good 
than  anybody  else  in  the  community,  and  that  everybody 
will  respect  him  all  the  more  for  it.  Canvassing  is  some- 
thing to  feel  proud  of.  Did  you  know  that  some  of  the 
greatest  men  in  the  world's  history  were  book  agents? 
The  great  Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  a  canvasser  and  sold 
a  book  called  'The  History  of  the  Revolution.'  George 
Washington  was  a  book  agent  and  sold  over  200  books 
in  Alexandria,  Va.  Daniel  Webster,  Mark  Twain,  Jay 
Gould,  Longfellow,  General  Grant,  Ex-President 
Hayes,  Elaine,  Garfield,  and  hundreds  more  of  our  dis- 
tinguished men  were  book  agents.  Some  one  asked  Tal- 
mage,  the  great  preacher,  what  he  thought  about  book 
agents,  and  his  answer  was,  'I  always  feel  like  taking 
off  my  hat  to  the  book  agent.  He  is  doing  more  good  in 
this  world  than  I  ever  saw.'  Now  Talmage's  opinion  is 
worth  something.  Anybody  whose  opinion  is  worth 
having  will  think  all  the  more  of  you  for  introducing  a 
first-class  book  like  this,  which  is  endorsed  by  teachers 
and  clergymen  and  men  of  that  stamp." 

Objection:    "The  town  is  full  of  agents  already." 

(Reply) :  "That  simply  proves  that  there  are  lots  of 
reading  people  here  who  buy  books.  People  never  fish 
on  dry  ground.  Agents  succeed  here  simply  because 
the  people  are  intelligent,  and  want  books.  The  more 
people  buy,  the  more  they  want  to  buy." 

Objection:  "I  was  once  cheated  in  buying  an  out- 
fit." ' 

(Reply) :  Suppose  you  were?  Are  you  going  to  let 
that  prevent  you  from  selling  a  book  like  this  that  you 


856  SELLING  AN  AGENCY. 

know  is  all  right?  If  you  got  cheated  in  buying  a  pair 
of  shoes,  you  certainly  wouldn't  expect  to  go  barefooted 
the  rest  of  your  life.  My  firm  has  put  every  one  of  its 
General  Managers  under  bond  to  deal  honorably  with 
the  public  and  not  misrepresent  anything,  but  you  don't 
have  to  take  my  word  for  it.  You  can  see  for  yourself 
just  what  our  methods  are,  and  I  will  guarantee  that 
everything  will  be  just  as  represented." 

Objection:  "I  know  a  man  right  here  in  this  town 
who  canvassed  ten  days  without'  making  a  single  sale." 

(Reply) :  "I  don't  doubt  that  a  particle.  Some  peo- 
ple always  fail  no  matter  what  they  attempt.  Perhaps 
this  agent  you  refer  to  didn't  have  any  instructions  like 
these  I  have  just  shown  you.  Perhaps  his  book  was  one 
that  nobody  wanted.  Perhaps  he  didn't  make  any  prep- 
arations for  the  work  and  didn't  know  how  to  go  at 
the  canvass.  There  are  a  hundred  reasons  why  he 
might  have  failed,  but  the  fact  that  he  failed  with 
his  book  is  no  reason  why  you  would  fail  with  this  book. 
The  firm  wrote  me  two  or  three  days  ago  that  they 
wanted  me  to  start  agents  on  this  book  in  every  town  be- 
fore I  secured  an  agent  for  any  other  book,  simply  be- 
cause this  book  is  selling  faster  than  .any  other  they  pub- 
lish.  If  you  never  go  into  business  simply  because  some 
one  else  has  made  a  failure  of  it,  you  will  never  start.  I 
know  you  will  succeed  with  it" 

Objection:  "People  can  do  without  books." 
(Reply) :  "Very  true;  but  they  don't!  People  could 
do  without  shoes  and  go  barefoot ;  but  they  don't!  They 
could  live  on  two  meals  a  day,  but  they  don't!  They 
could  do  without  a  hundred  other  things,  but  they  don't 
and  won't!  What  they  really  desire  and  what  they 


SELLING  AN  AGENCT.  U7 

really  need  they  will  certainly  buy!  If  you  show  up 
this  book  in  the  right  way  and  make  people  want  it,  they 
will  buy  it.  If  people  didn't  buy  books,  my  firm  would 
have  to  go  out  of  business.  Instead  of  that,  they  are 
spending  more  money  this  year  in  bringing  out  new 
books  than  ever  before." 


These  are  the  commonest  objections  that  will  be 
raised,  and,  if  you  will  memorize  these  arguments  and 
put  them  into  practice,  you  can  meet  almost  any  objec- 
tions that  will  come  up.  Of  course  your  way  of  answer- 
ing objections  may  be  a  little  different  from  ours,  but 
will  be  the  same  thing  in  substance.  We  don't  care  how 
you  get  around  objections  so  long  as  you  do  so  effec- 
tively. The  main  thing  is  to  avoid  objections  when  you 
can  by  rapidly  attracting  the  agent's  attention  to  some- 
thing else  without  his  realizing  you  are  doing  so.  Often- 
times you  can  do  this  by  saying:  "I  will  come  to  that  in 

just  a  minute,  Mr. ,"  and  then  push  right  ahead 

with  your  explanation. 

You  must  expect  objections  and  train  yourself  to 
answer  them  or  avoid  them  altogether.  Good-natured 
answers  are  always  the  best.  Whatever  you  do,  don't 
make  the  agent  angry.  Don't  raise  his  antagonism. 
Keep  good-natured  and  jolly  yourself,  and  keep  the 
agent  in  good  humor,  too.  After  you  answer  an  ob- 
jection don't  give  the  agent  time  to  reply  or  argue  the 
matter.  Go  right  ahead  talking  up  the  merits  of  your 
book  and  hammering  away  on  its  selling  qualities  and  the 
big  profit  he  can  make,  and  you  will  find  the  agent  will 
always  lose  sight  of  his  objection  altogether. 


8i8  SELLING  AN  AGENCY. 

PREPARATION  FOR  GENERAL  AGENTS. 

By  Walter  E.  Dewey. 

The  unvarying  price  of  success  is  well-directed  effort ; 
of  high  success,  expert  work.  The  foundation  for  both 
is  preparation',  not  a  single  reading  of  instructions,  but 
a  diligent  laborious  study  and  practice  of  them.  Ex- 
perienced travelers  are  most  successful,  because  they  have 
the  fullest  understanding  of  the  work.  All  are  success- 
ful in  proportion  to  their  readiness  for  everything  that 
"turns  up." 

It  will  cost  you  very  little  hard  work,  which  is  the 
ready  capital  of  every  ambitious  man  and  woman,  to 
make  your  success  sure.  It  will  cost  you  a  great  deal  to 
slight  your  preparation.  For  every  hour  that  you  may 
spend  in  profitable  preparation  you  will  (if  you  neglect 
it)  spend  days  in  disappointing,  resultless  effort.  Don't 
think,  "Oh,  getting  agents  is  easy."  It  is  not,  for  the 
beginner.  We  have  travelers  who  are  making  as  high 
as  $3,000  per  year  and  expenses,  and  you  know  that  a 
work  which  you  could  expect  to  be  "easy"  at  the  start 
would  not  have  to  pay  any  worker  such  a  figure. 

We  who  know,  and  in  whose  sight  your  early  work  will 
cloud  or  brighten  your  whole  future,  tell  you  that  you 
have  hills  to  climb,  and  that  unless  you  know  the  re- 
quirements of  your  position  and  meet  them  fully  you 
will  fail. 

Understand  Your  Work. 

Store  away  in  your  mind  the  "meat"  of  explanatory 
and  instructive  matter  we  send  you.  Master  it. 
Get  more  than  a  parrot's  ability  to  recite  it.  Understand 
it,  and  from  the  fundamental  truths  and  ideas  we  give 


SELLING  AN  AGENCY.  359 

you  make  sensible  deductions  which  will  enable  you  to 
"take  care  of"  features  and  objections  which  are  not 
especially  treated  herein. 

Avoid  experiments  which  involve  time  or  money,  for 
most  variations  from  the  plan  herein  outlined  have  been 
tried  unavailingly,  but  strive  for  originality  in  methods 
and  arguments. 

Understand  your  contracts  perfectly.  Be  able  to  ex- 
plain them  clearly  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  create 
the  best  effect.  The  "deposit"  is  always  the  sensitive 
feature,  but  it  is  a  "sticker"  only  as  the  result  of  a  defect- 
ive explanation,  if  the  probable  really  means  business. 
All  probables  cannot  make  the  deposit,  although  the 
class  of  people  for  whom  our  offers  are  intended  usually 
have  the  credit  to  borrow;  but  in  any  event,  "objection 
to  deposit"  is  the  easiest  of  objections  to  meet,  for  the 
deposit  requirement  is  distinctly  in  the  interests  of  the 
agent,  and  properly  explained  its  reasonableness  is  the 
one  thing  which  cannot  be  doubted. 

Know  Your  Books  Thoroughly. 

Having  thoroughly  mastered  your  contracts  and  in- 
structions, take  up  the  descriptions  of  your  books.  Mem- 
orize regarding  each:  Its  name,  nature,  illustrations, 
descriptions  of  the  bindings,  retail  prices  and  the  agent's 
profit;  the  interesting  features  and  strong  points  which 
make  the  book  sell.  By  "strong  points"  we  mean  such 
as  brilliant  authorship,  interesting  subjects  and  contents, 
beautiful  illustrations,  fine  paper,  clear  new  type,  at- 
tractive binding,  low  retail  prices,  etc.,  etc. 

This  superficial  knowledge  of  each  book  you  should 
have  at  your  "tongue's  end;"  but  this  is  not  enough. 


360  SELLING  AN    AGENCY. 

Before  trying  to  appoint  an  agent  take  at  least  two 
books,  one  suited  to  men  and  one  to  women,  and  study 
them  in  connection  with  the  Special  Descriptions,  or  the 
instructions  entitled  "How  to  Sell,"  until  you  are  able 
to  conduct  a  canvass  on  them  as  it  should  be  conducted. 

This  is  necessary,  twice  necessary,  for  the  reason  is 
twofold:  Your  best  chance  of  getting  an  agent  is  by 
thoroughly  convincing  him  (or  her)  that  the  book  is 
very  attractive  and  desirable — much  more  so  than  the 
books  upon  which  others  of  his  acquaintances  have  failed, 
or  the  works  (possibly  of  equal  merit)  which  have  been 
"lamely"  explained  to  him  by  some  other  traveler. 

Again,  you  must  give  him  an  example  of  what  can  be 
said  in  favor  of  "this"  book,  thus  indicating  to  him  the 
sort  of  description  that  will  surely  interest  others  just 
as  it  has  interested  him. 

Still  again,  the  cases  are  rare  where  you  can  change 
from  one  book  to  another  in  your  talk  to  a  probable, 
and  the  book  first  mentioned  must  be  successfully  rep- 
resented as  the  "fastest  seller"  ever  offered.  This  will 
be  true  in  every  case,  for  all  of  our  books  are  fast  sellers, 
and  the  confidence  and  enthusiasm  created  in  the  agent 
will,  more  than  the  book  itself,  conduce  to  his  success. 

Learning  the  Description. 

As  stated,  you  must  at  the  start  be  able  to  describe  at 
least  two  of  your  books  as  fully  and  attractively  as  the 
"How  to  Sell"  makes  possible,  for  the  all-important 
description  will  have  to  be  gone  through  often,  indeed 
generally,  without  showing  the  prospectus — you  have 
not  time  to  submit  the  outfit  for  examination  until  you 
are  pretty  sure  of  the  agent. 


SELLING  AN  AGENCY.  361 

After  you  have  started,  prepare  thoroughly  at  least 
one  of  your  books  each  week  until  you  have  them  all 
mastered.  When  you  get  a  new  book  learn  it  thor- 
oughly before  you  attempt  to  appoint  an  agent. 

Little  things  decide  the  success  or  failure  of  most  in- 
terviews. Be  tactful.  Never  talk  profit  as  "forty  per 
cent."  Avoid  the  words  "per  cent."  and  "commission." 
Avoid  the  use  of  the  word  dollar  in  giving  prices,  and 
use  it  much  in  connection  with  agent's  profit.  For  in- 
stance, in  speaking  of  a  book  which  sells  in  cloth  for 
$2.75  and  in  morocco  for  $3.75  say:  "Its  rapid  sale 
enables  the  publishers  to  offer  it  at  the  low  prices  of 
'two  seventy-five'  for  the  beautiful  cloth  binding  and 
'three  seventy-five*  for  an  elegant  full  morocco  binding 
with  gold  edges.  On  each  sale  of  the  cheapest  binding 
you  make  'a  dollar  and  ten  cents,'  and  on  the  best  bind- 
ing, which  sells  rapidly,  you  make  'a  dollar  and  a  half 
for  each  sale." 

Rehearse,  practice  diligently  before  you  try  actual 
work.  Arrange  with  a  friend  or  relative  to  help  you. 
Approach  him  for  "information"  and  have  him  test  your 
resources.  Next  consider  him  a  probable  and  try  to 
appoint  him.  Have  him  raise  all  possible  objections, 
and  you  meet  them.  This  is  not  foolish  hippodrome — it 
is  getting  ready  for  succezs. 


DON'TS  FOR  SALESMEN. 

Don't  sit  awkwardly  in  youY  chair. 

Don't  put  your  hand  on  the  prospect. 

Don't  point  your  pencil  or  finger  at  the  prospect. 

Don't  mispronounce  words. 

Don't  talk  too  fast. 

Don't  speak  in  a  monotonous  tone. 

Don't  speak  indistinctly. 

Don't  pass  too  rapidly  from  one  thing  to  another. 

Don't  emphasize  too  strongly. 

Don't  fail  to  emphasize  important  parts. 

Don't  seem  at  a  loss  for  something  to  say. 

Don't  fail  to  suit  the  word  to  the  action. 

Don't  repeat  as  from  memory. 

Don't  try  to  be  magnetic  or  eloquent. 

Don't  fail  to  draw  out  the  prospect's  objections. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
BUSINESS  SUCCESS.* 

By  WALTER  H.  COTTINGHAM, 

President,  The  Sherwin-Williams  Company, 
Cleveland,  Ohio. 

The  field  of  business  is  world-wide  in  extent.  Its 
cultivation  affords  the  ambitious  man  greater  scope  and 
opportunities  for  his  activity  and  ability  than  any  other. 
There  are  no  limits  to  the  possibilities  of  a  business  ca- 
reer, excepting  the  limitations  of  human  capacity  and  en- 
durance. And  this  is  the  day  of  business.  In  no  period 
of  the  world's  history  has  it  occupied  such  an  important 
place. 

Time  was  when  men  devoted  themselves  to  conquest 
by  the  sword,  but  now  the  world's  greatest  contests  are 
fought  and  won  on  the  fields  of  commerce  by  the  great 
captains  of  industry.  To  be  "in  trade"  is  no  longer  a 
reproach,  for  business  as  it  is  constituted  today  affords 
ample  opportunity  for  the  highest  honors,  for  the  most 
enduring  fame  and  for  unlimited  wealth  and  power.  It 
is  a  field  to  attract  the  able  and  the  ambitious  and  in 
which  to  exercise  the  greatest  talents. 

The  world  is  progressing  today  at  a  greater  speed 
than  ever  before.  Developments  and  improvements  are 
on  every  side.  They  are  the  results  of  the  genius  of 
business.  They  are  the  rewards  of  tireless  industry  and 
superior  ability. 


"Copyright,  1907,  "by  Walter  H.  Cottingham. 

363 


364  BUSINESS  SUCCESS. 

Let  no  one  think  that  the  best  days  for  business  oppor- 
tunities have  passed.  We  are  in  the  midst  of  them. 
Right  now  the  chances  of  success  are  greater  than  they 
ever  were.  But  remember  this,  better  training  and 
greater  knowledge  are  now  necessary  to  successfully  con- 
duct the  vast  transactions  by  which  the  enormous  busi- 
ness of  our  time  is  operated  than  in  the  days  of  small 
things. 

In  this  chapter  I  have  written  down  some  thoughts, 
born  of  experience,  concerning  business  success,  with  the 
hope  that  they  may  be  of  some  help  to  young  men  ambi- 
tious to  make  the  most  of  themselves  in  a  business  career. 

The  Choice  of  a  Career. 

What  is  your  life-work  to  be  ?  That  is  the  all-impor- 
tant question  confronting  the  young  man  about  to  em- 
bark on  a  business  career.  If  it  is  to  be  highly  success- 
ful it  must  be  something  into  which  you  can  throw  the 
whole  force  of  your  being.  It  must  be  something  out  of 
which  you  can  take  pleasure,  and  in  which  you  can  take 
pride.  While  it  is  true  that  correct  principles  and  right 
methods  energetically  applied  to  any  kind  of  business 
will  produce  results,  the  acme  of  success  for  which  we 
should  strive  is  reached  only  when  the  man  is  exactly  fit- 
ted for  the  work,  and  the  work  entirely  suits  the  man. 

Fortunate  it  is,  when  a  young  man  early  in  life  devel- 
ops a  decided  preference  or  liking  for  some  particular 
kind  of  work.  When  such  is  the  case  he  should  be  al- 
lowed to  follow  his  inclination. 

Where  no  preference  has  developed,  the  young  man 
should  carefully  study  himself,  and  find  out  what  he  is 
best  fitted  for,  and  decide  early  on  some  line  of  work,  and 


BUSINESS  SUCCESS.  365 

then  stick  to  it.  A  great  deal  of  valuable  time  is  often 
wasted  by  moving  around  from  one  place  to  another,  in 
search  of  something  more  congenial  or  profitable.  Shift- 
ing of  this  kind  is  usually  unprofitable  in  the  long  run, 
as  it  is  apt  to  make  a  man  unsettled  and  breed  in  him 
the  fatal  habit  of  instability. 

In  choosing  an  occupation,  most  young  men  are  in- 
clined to  take  up  something  that  will  pay  best  at  the 
start,  instead  of  considering  the  more  important  matter 
of  securing  the  proper  training.  A  few  years  at  the  be- 
ginning, with  small  pay,  and  the  right  kind  of  training, 
will  be  the  most  profitable  in  the  long  run. 

In  choosing  your  work,  remember  always  that  above 
the  mere  kind  of  business  you  engage  in,  or  the  money 
you  hope  to  make  out  of  it,  is  your  career.  That  is  the 
important  thing.  What  are  you  going  to  make  of  your 
life?  Business  is  but  a  means  to  an  end.  It  is  but  the 
occupation  by  which  you  are  to  exercise  and  develop 
your  God-given  qualifications  and  talents.  It  is  the 
arena  in  which  you  are  to  practice  day  in  and  day  out  for 
the  great  race  of  the  world — the  successful  life.  Choose 
then  an  occupation  that  will  give  you  the  widest  scope  to 
make  of  yourself  the  greatest  and  the  highest  success. 

The  Start. 

Business  is  a  race.  It  is  a  struggle  for  supremacy, 
from  start  to  finish.  The  field  is  crowded  with  trained 
competitors,  eager  and  alert  to  outdo  one  another  at 
every  turn.  The  start  is  important.  It  means  a  great 
deal  to  get  under  way  right.  The  very  first  step  then  is 
a  firm  and  determined  resolution  to  succeed.  Make  up 
your  mind  before  you  enter  the  race  that  you  will  go  into 


366  BUSINESS  SUCCESS. 

it  to  stay,  that  you  will  keep  the  goal  of  success  ever  be- 
fore your  eyes,  and  that  you  will  never  give  up  until  you 
have  crossed  the  line  a  winner. 

Such  a  resolution  many  young  men  never  take.  The 
majority  seem  to  be  possessed  of  an  idea  that  success  is 
largely  a  matter  of  luck,  that  when  they  get  into  business 
fortune  will  come  to  them  in  some  way.  They  fail  to 
take  a  serious  view  of  the  subject  at  the  start.  They  ut- 
terly fail  to  realize  the  tremendous  effort  and  hardship 
necessary  to  get  even  a  foothold,  and  so  they  drift  along 
aimlessly  without  a  plan  to  guide  them.  Therefore,  let 
me  emphasize  the  importance  of  a  sober  and  firm  resolu- 
tion at  the  start.  Resolve  with  all  the  strength  you  can 
command  that  you  will  win,  and  then  determine  with  all 
your  might  that  you  will  keep  that  resolution — and  go 
to  work. 

Training  for  the  Race. 

Having  taken  your  resolution  to  win  it  is  important  to 
get  into  training.  The  race  is  a  hard  one,  the  road  is 
rough  and  steep,  especially  at  the  start,  and  what  you  re- 
quire at  this  stage  more  than  anything  else  is  staying 
power,  and  this  power  can  only  be  developed  by  experi- 
ence and  exercise  on  the  track.  You  must  train  in  the 
harness.  You  must  get  down  to  the  very  simplest  kind 
of  work  and  learn  it  by  the  slow  and  tedious  process  of 
doing  it. 

The  first  necessity  of  training  for  any  race,  and  espe- 
cially for  the  race  of  business  success,  is  work. 

Work,  in  order  to  be  highly  successful,  must  be  done 
because  of  love  for  it,  because  of  the  desire  for  accom- 
plishment. It  is  only  under  such  conditions  that  one  is 
able  to  do  his  best.  The  heart  and  soul,  as  well  as  the 


BUSINESS  SUCCESS.  867 

head  and  hands,  must  enter  into  the  task  if  it  is  to  be  of 
the  record-making  kind.  It  must  become  a  part  of  your 
very  self.  All  the  great  works  of  art,  literature  and 
science  are  great  because  they  are  part  and  parcel  of  the 
being  who  created  them.  They  are  the  expression  of  an 
ideal,  developed  by  intense  application,  not  for  love  of 
gain,  but  for  the  love  of  achievement  and  the  desire  to 
excel. 

The  man  who  finds  work  a  drudgery  and  an  everlast- 
ing grind,  who  is  always  looking  for  the  quitting  time, 
will  never  do  really  good  work,  for  his  heart  is  not  in  it. 
He  is  but  a  machine  working  for  mere  existence.  He 
works  only  because  he  has  to,  and  is  kept  up  to  it.  The 
spark  of  originality  and  enthusiasm,  usually  called  gen- 
ius, is  wanting,  and  so  the  work  is  ordinary  and  com- 
monplace. Of  this  kind  of  workers  there  is  an  over- 
supply  in  the  world,  and  so  the  price  is  low.  But  for 
the  man  who  works  because  he  desires  improvement  and 
advancement,  because  he  desires  to  accomplish,  because 
he  wants  to  do  something  better  than  it  has  ever  been 
done  before,  because  he  wants  to  be  a  prize  winner  in 
the  great  race  for  success,  there  is  no  limit  to  what  he 
may  do.  The  whole  world  is  open  to  him  and  welcomes 
him  and  will  reward  him  richly. 

Work  is  not  hardship.  It  is  in  truth  one  of  the  Cre- 
ator's greatest  blessings.  There  is  no  satisfaction  or 
pleasure  equal  to  that  which  is  produced  by  honest  effort 
and  toil,  and  the  feeling  that  you  are  accomplishing 
something  and  are  making  headway  in  life  by  your  own 
exertion  and  force. 

The  care  of  health,  as  well  as  work,  is  necessary  in  any 
system  of  training.  Physical  exertion  and  mental  force 


308  BUSINESS  3VCCE31. 

are  dependent  upon  the  condition  of  the  body  and  the 
state  of  the  mind.  It,  therefore,  behooves  us  to  see  to  it 
that  our  bodies  and  minds  are  at  all  times  kept  in  perfect 
health. 

We  all  know  the  importance  of  the  machinery  to  the 
output  of  the  factory  and  the  great  pains  taken  to  keep  it 
in  perfect  condition.  How  watchful  is  the  engineer  to 
see  that  the  fires  are  kept  at  high  heat,  that  the  gearings 
and  the  shaftings  are  all  in  order  and  well  oiled,  that 
every  care  is  taken  to  avoid  friction,  and  have  all  run 
smoothly,  for  it  is  only  through  the  exercise  of  such  pains 
that  the  highest  efficiency  is  obtained.  The  human  ma- 
chinery needs  the  same  close  and  constant  care,  if  it  is  to 
develop  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  force  and  effi- 
ciency. 

The  body  and  mind  comprise  the  motive  power  for  our 
operations.  The  body  generates  the  current  and  the 
mind  is  the  medium  that  electrifies  and  directs  our  en- 
ergy. It  behooves  us,  therefore,  to  keep  our  motive 
power  at  all  times  in  the  highest  state  of  perfection,  foi 
if  we  neglect  it  there  is  sure  to  be  a  breakdown  and  the 
plant  put  out  of  operation. 

Knowledge  of  your  physical  and  mental  requirements 
is  necessary  to  health.  Every  man  should  gain  this 
knowledge  by  careful  study  of  his  constitution.  He 
must  find  out  what  it  is  necessary  to  do  to  preserve  his 
health,  and  do  it.  He  must  find  out  what  it  is  necessary 
to  avoid,  and  avoid  it.  He  should  know  what  he  can  eat 
and  drink,  and  what  he  cannot  eat  and  drink,  and  live 
accordingly.  He  should  know  what  kind  of,  and  how 
much  exercise  he  requires,  and  take  it.  He  should  know 
how  much  sleep  he  needs,  and  get  it.  He  should  find  out 


BtTSINESS  fUCCESi.  SCt 

his  capacity  for  work  and  not  go  beyond  it.  He  should 
in  all  things  be  temperate  and  regular.  These  things 
are  all  important  if  a  man  wishes  to  keep  himself  at  all 
times  keyed  up  to  concert  pitch,  and  remember  he  can- 
not be  keyed  up  if  his  motive  power  is  run  down. 

Most  men  know  what  is  necessary  to  keep  them  in 
proper  condition,  but  lack  the  moral  courage  and 
strength  of  mind  to  govern  themselves  accordingly.  Men 
of  such  self-indulgence  need  never  expect  to  make  the 
most  of  themselves,  for  he  who  is  not  master  of  himself, 
and  cannot  manage  and  control  himself,  certainly  cannot 
successfully  manage  and  control  others.  He  is  a  weak- 
ling, unfit  for  leadership. 

And  now  as  to  the  mind :  There  is  a  good  old  proverb 
that  says:  "As  a  man  thinketh  so  is  he,"  which  is  an 
eternal  truth.  We  become  largely  what  we  think  we 
want  to  be.  High  thinking  leads  to  high  aiming.  If 
we  think  great  things  long  enough  and  hard  enough, 
some  day  we  are  likely  to  do  them.  On  the  other  hand, 
let  a  man  be  pessimistic  and  morbid  in  thought,  let  him 
think  he's  no  good,  that  everybody  and  everything  is 
against  him,  that  he'll  never  amount  to  anything,  and 
these  things  are  very  likely  to  come  to  pass.  Believe  in 
yourself,  expect  much,  and  work  hard  for  it,  and  let  your 
mind  be  busy  always  with  new  and  larger  plans. 

A  clear,  clean,  strong  mind  in  a  healthy  body  is  what 
counts.  Go  into  your  training  with  such  an  equipment, 
backed  by  hard  work,  and  an  ardent  desire  to  make  the 
most  of  yourself,  and  nothing  can  prevent  you  from 
reaching  your  goal. 


I.B.I,.  Vol.  2—24 


370  BUSINESS  SUCCESS. 

Work  to  a  Plan. 

"Plan  your  work  and  work  your  plan,"  somebody  has 
tritely  said,  and  it  applies  with  particular  force  to  a  busi- 
ness career.  Your  career  must  be  built.  It  must  be 
built  bit  by  bit,  and  if  the  work  is  to  be  well  done,  and 
the  structure  a  strong  and  shapely  one,  if  it  is  to  be  as  it 
ought  to  be,  built  for  eternity,  then  you  need  a  plan  to 
guide  you.  No  important  structure  was  ever  built  with- 
out one.  The  plan  for  your  career  must  be  sketched  by 
your  imagination  on  the  mind.  You  must  carry  there, 
and  keep  always  before  your  eyes,  a  picture  of  the  career 
you  want  to  live.  This  will  be  your  plan,  and  while  you 
work  laboriously  in  the  sweat  and  heat  of  the  day,  build- 
ing piece  by  piece,  higher  and  higher,  turn  to  your  com- 
pleted picture  for  encouragement  and  inspiration. 

And  how  is  the  picture  to  be  developed?  This  is  the 
work  of  your  ambition.  To  be  ambitious  is  to  dream,  to 
long,  to  aspire  to  be  something  greater  than  we  are.  It 
is  a  desire  to  conquer,  to  win,  to  make  the  very  most  of 
one's  self.  And  it  is  a  magnificent  thing  for  a  man  to 
strive  with  all  the  power  that  is  in  him  to  make  the  most 
of  himself.  The  desire  to  distinguish  one's  self  is  laud- 
able and  commendable.  A  man  without  ambition  is  like 
a  bird  without  wings.  He  can  never  soar  in  the  heights 
above,  but  must  walk  like  a  weakling,  unnoticed,  with  the 
crowds  below.  He  never  feels  the  thrill  of  enthusiasm 
which  pulsates  through  the  veins  of  the  ambitious  man  as 
he  presses  forward  in  the  exciting  struggle  to  reach  his 
aim.  So  I  say,  keep  alive  in  your  breast  the  fire  of  ambi- 
tion, and  let  it  burn  so  brightly  that  you  will  be  ever 
spurred  on  to  the  highest  endeavor.  Let  it  sketch  in 


BUSINESS  SUCCESS.  371 

your  mind  a  plan  of  greatness  worthy  of  your  finest 
effort. 

And  why  shouldn't  you  succeed?  The  field  is  open  to 
you,  and  nothing  is  impossible  to  youth  and  determina- 
tion. Given  a  man  with  good  health  of  body  and  mind, 
a  consuming  ambition  to  rise,  and  a  large  capacity  for 
hard  work,  and  it  matters  not  who  he  is,  where  he  is,  or 
what  he  is,  he  will  come  to  the  top.  You  can't  keep 
such  a  man  down — it  would  be  contrary  to  the  laws  of 
human  progress  and  experience.  The  time,  the  place, 
and  the  opportunity  are  never  wanting  to  the  ambitious 
man.  It  is  the  man  himself  who  makes  these,  not  they 
that  make  him.  I  have  no  patience  with  those  who  at- 
tribute success  to  a  lucky  chance,  a  fortunate  circum- 
stance, or  a  rare  opportunity — these  come  to  every  man, 
the  difference  being,  one  sees  them,  the  other  does  not. 
One  has  worked  for  them,  and  prepared  for  them,  and 
when  they  present  themselves,  he  is  ready  and  seizes  hold 
of  them.  The  other  is  unprepared,  and  so  they  slip  by 
him,  and  he  calls  it  hard  luck.  Let  a  man  but  have  an 
aim  and  a  purpose,  and  the  opportunity  to  attain  his  end 
will  not  be  wanting.  The  field  of  business  is  open  to  all. 
In  the  arena  of  trade  every  man  can  compete,  and  every 
man  has  a  good,  fair  chance,  the  statements  of  croakers 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

If  such  a  declaration  needs  confirmation,  I  have  only 
to  point  to  the  great  captains  of  industry  the  world  over, 
who  have  almost  invariably  risen  from  the  humblest  of 
beginnings,  without  any  better  chances  than  those  that 
come  to  all  of  us. 

Great  American  business  men,  like  Andrew  Carnegie, 
Marshall  Field,  John  Wanamaker  and  J.  J.  Hill,  have 


372  BUSINESS  SUCCESS. 

climbed  the  ladder  of  business  success  from  the  lowest 
rung,  step  by  step,  against  great  odds,  and  by  tremen- 
dous effort  and  persistence;  and  so  have  such  great 
Englishmen  as  Rhodes,  Brassey  and  Lipton,  and  such 
Canadians  as  Strathcona,  Stephen  and  MacDonald,  and 
many  others. 

The  success  of  these  giants  of  industry  illustrates  the 
immense  possibilities  of  business  and  what  may  be 
achieved  from  small  beginnings  .and  little  opportunities. 
They  should  prove  an  inspiration  to  everyone  striving 
for  business  success. 

I  have  tried  to  study  the  careers  of  these  men,  and  am 
convinced  they  have  gained  their  commanding  posi- 
tions, not  so  much  by  the  exercise  of  extraordinary  quali- 
ties, not  by  reason  of  the  possession  of  what  is  called 
genius,  but  by  the  practice  of  every-day,  good,  ordinary, 
business  principles,  and  by  sticking  to  them,  concentra- 
ting the  whole  force  of  their  strong  natures  on  their 
work,  gaining  a  little  all  the  time,  going  steadily  for- 
ward, step  by  step,  higher  and  higher. 

It's  wonderful  what  can  be  accomplished  in  time  by  a 
man  who  works  persistently  along  the  right  lines.  It's 
deviating  from  the  course,  getting  off  the  track,  letting 
down  a  little  at  times,  that  is  fatal  to  progress.  Stick-to- 
it-iveness  is  characteristic  of  all  men  of  great  achieve- 
ments. 

The  Value  of  Time. 

Time  is  the  greatest  factor  in  successful  work.  The 
man  who  solves  the  problem  of  how  to  make  the  most  of 
time  has  found  the  way  to  make  the  most  of  himself. 
Without  doubt  there  is  nothing  so  costly  that  is  so  much 
wasted  as  time.  It  is  wasted  in  too  much  sleep,  in  too 


BUSINESS  SUCCESS.  373 

much  leisure,  and  in  downright  laziness.  It  is  squan- 
dered in  useless  pleasures,  and  in  excess  of  recreation. 
It  slips  away  in  ease  and  comfort  almost  without  our 
knowing  it.  In  truth  the  precious  moments  fly.  How, 
then,  shall  we  save  them?  There  is  only  one  way — con- 
centrate. Procrastination  is  said  to  be  the  thief  of  time, 
and  concentration  may  be  called  the  developer  of  time. 
Whatever  you  do,  put  into  it  the  whole  force  of  your 
mind,  and  as  you  would  avoid  the  waste  of  time,  avoid 
the  wandering  of  your  thoughts,  the  scattering  of  your 
efforts — concentrate,  concentrate  in  all  things.  It's 
wonderful  what  can  be  accomplished  by  concentration, 
even  in  little  things,  and  it's  wonderful,  too,  how  once 
the  habit  of  concentration  is  formed  it  can  so  readily  be 
applied  to  everything  that  we  do.  We  need  concentra- 
tion in  the  large  affairs  of  life  to  enable  us  to  persist  in 
a  regular  course,  and  we  need  it  in  our  daily  work  and 
thinking  to  make  time  count.  Therefore,  I  say,  organ- 
ize your  time,  plan  for  every  minute  of  the  day.  Fix 
your  time  for  rising,  for  dressing,  for  eating,  for  work- 
ing, for  recreation  and  for  sleeping.  Make  every  min- 
ute count  in  some  useful,  helpful  occupation.  Our  value 
depends  upon  how  much  we  can  make  of  every  minute 
of  the  day.  In  all  things  be  prompt.  Get  the  thing 
done.  Do  it  now.  Delay  is  fatal.  The  only  way  for  a 
busy  man  to  get  through  his  work  is  to  take  up  one  thing 
at  a  time  and  stick  to  it  until  he  puts  it  through.  Never 
mind  if  the  work  is  difficult — it  must  be  done.  Tackle 
it  NOW.  Get  rid  of  it  and  take  up  the  next.  This  is 
the  only  way  to  keep  abreast  of  your  work  and  to  be 
ready  for  more.  Such  practice  will  soon  develop  in  you 
a  great  capacity  for  work  and  action.  Quick  and  ac- 


374  BUSINESS  SUCCESS. 

curate  decision,  prompt  and  forceful  action,  are  the  qual- 
ities which  insure  dispatch  and  make  time  count. 

But  remember,  too,  that  there  is  more  than  action  nec- 
essary to  the  best  results.  You  must  provide  time  for  in- 
vestigation and  study,  time  to  thoroughly  review  the 
past,  and  time  to  think  out  the  future.  Time  spent  in 
thinking  is  well  spent.  Successful  thinking  requires  the 
same  concentration  necessary  to  successful  action.  Plans 
are  formed  by  thought  and  executed  by  action.  There- 
fore, let  it  be  your  care  to  develop  the  two  with  equal 
perseverance.  Thought  should  be  put  into  every  action 
that  engages  your  efforts,  no  matter  how  simple  or  per- 
functory. The  natural  inclination  is  to  do  our  work  in 
a  routine  sort  of  way — automatically,  like  a  machine. 
Thought  involves  effort,  and  it  is  by  effort  we  exercise 
and  develop  the  mind  as  in  like  manner  we  exercise  and 
develop  the  muscles  of  the  body.  Apply  to  all  that  en- 
gages your  time  this  simple  question:  How  can  I  im- 
prove it?  Because  a  thing  has  always  been  done  a  cer- 
tain way  is  not  proof  that  there  is  not  another  and  a  bet- 
ter way.  Any  man  can  do  the  things  he  is  taught  to  do; 
the  exceptional  man  is  the  one  who  improves  on  old  and 
invents  new  ways  of  doing  things. 

Keep  your  eyes  open,  your  ears  attentive,  and  your 
mind  active.  Form  the  habit  of  observation,  and  apply 
it  wherever  you  go.  Most  people  go  through  the  world 
as  if  their  eyes  were  shut  and  their  ears  closed.  They 
never  seem  to  learn  anything  unless  it  is  pounded  into 
them.  Avoid  passiveness.  Be  curious.  Know  the  why 
and  the  wherefore.  It's  better  to  run  the  risk  of  being 
a  nuisance  by  being  too  curious  than  to  go  along  un- 
mindful of  what  is  passing  around  you. 


BUSINESS  SUCCESS.  375 

What  I  want  to  emphasize  in  all  this  is  the  value  of 
time.  See  to  it  that  not  a  minute  is  wasted.  Be  al- 
ways engaged  in  something — doing  or  thinking — that 
will  increase  your  knowledge.  "Knowledge  is  power." 
See  to  it  that  you  gain  the  largest  possible  amount  of  it. 

Be  Enterprising. 

To  be  enterprising  is  to  strike  out  on  new  and  im- 
proved lines  of  your  own,  to  leave  the  beaten  path  of 
routine  and  monotonous  custom,  and  blaze  for  yourself 
a  trail  broad  and  straight  through  the  great  world  of 
opportunity  that  stretches  out  before  us  on  every  hand. 
The  great  prizes  of  the  world  are  reserved  for  the  en- 
terprising, for  those  who  have  the  courage  to  dare  and 
the  will  and  perseverance  to  do. 

The  enterprising  man  requires  nerve,  energy  and  am- 
bition. He  must  be  willing  and  able  to  shoulder  re- 
sponsibility, and  he  must  be  ready  to  take  risks.  He 
must  not  be  such  a  one  as  requires  to  see  the  complete 
and  successful  finish  of  a  transaction  before  he  under- 
takes it.  He  must  be  willing  to  back  his  judgment  and 
take  chances.  A  certain  amount  of  caution  is  wise,  but 
too  great  caution  in  business  is  weak  and  unprogressive. 
It  is  stagnation. 

If  you  are  going  to  accomplish  anything  of  moment 
in  the  world  you've  got  to  strike  out  boldly  on  new  lines 
of  your  own.  You  can't  expect  to  make  any  but  or- 
dinary headway  doing  what  others  are  doing.  Com- 
petition under  such  conditions  is  too  keen  to  admit  of 
great  advancement.  You  must  break  in  on  old  meth- 
ods with  a  new  plan,  or  do  something  better  than  it  has 
ever  been  done  before.  New  ideas  are  what  make  big 
successes.  It  is  the  man  who  can  anticipate  new  wants 


376  BUSINESS  SUCCESS. 

or  create  some  new  demand  that  wins  fortune.  The 
man  with  ideas  and  the  nerve  and  energy  to  work  them 
out  will  always  find  a  field,  no  matter  how  crowded  the 
market.  The  world  demands  and  rewards  new  ideas. 

Right  here  let  me  say,  if  you  have  an  idea,  don't  be 
afraid  to  try  it  out.  You'll  never  know  what  it  is  worth 
until  you  try.  More  good  ideas  perish  than  ever  see 
the  light  of  day,  just  for  the  want  of  action.  When  a 
good  idea  strikes  you,  get  busy  on  it  at  once.  Don't 
wait  for  a  more  convenient  time,  don't  be  talked  out  of 
it,  try  it  out.  Strike  while  the  iron  is  hot.  Ideas  are 
rare  inspirations.  Seize  hold  of  them  and  act. 

"If  you  are  in  earnest,  seize  this  very  minute.  What 
you  can  do,  or  believe  you  can,  begin  it." 

I  don't  want  to  convey  the  idea  that  new  things  should 
be  rushed  into  without  any  consideration.  No  thought 
in  such  matters  is  worse  than  too  much  thought.  The 
wise  man  will  investigate  and  study  well  each  new  un- 
dertaking before  he  engages  in  it.  He  will  weigh  very 
carefully  the  chances  of  success  over  failure  and  then 
decide,  and  once  his  decision  is  made,  he  will  stick  to  it. 
If  the  decision  is  favorable  to  the  attempt,  he  will  cast 
to  the  wind  all  further  hesitation  and  doubt,  and  devote 
himself  heart  and  soul  to  the  task.  There  will  be  no 
turning  back,  no  weak  vacillation,  but  a  determined  reso- 
lution to  put  the  thing  through  to  a  successful  conclu- 
sion. And  let  it  be  remembered,  new  things  do  not 
usually  succeed  at  the  start.  There  is  generally  a  lot 
of  disappointment  and  grief  mixed  up  with  them  be- 
fore they  are  made  to  go.  And  here  comes  the  test  of 
pluck.  The  average  man  lets  go  too  soon.  Discour- 


BUSINESS  SUCCESS.  377 

agement  and  disappointment  force  him  out.      It's  the 
man  with  confidence  and  pluck  that  hangs  on. 

"Just  when  the  pearl  was  waiting  one  more  plunge, 

How  many  a  struggler  has  thrown  up  the  sponge; 

And  O  how  true,  when  shades  of  doubt  dismay, 

'Tis  often  darkest  just  before  the  break  of  day. 

A  little  more  persistence,  courage,  vim, 

Success  will  dawn  o  'er  fortune 's  cloudy  rim. ' ' 

"Then    take   this   honey   for   the   bitterest    cup, 

There  is  no  lailure  save  in  giving  up; 

No  real  fall  as  long  as  one  still  tries, 

For  seeming  set-backs  make  the  strong  man  wise. 

There's  no  defeat,  in  truth,  save  from  within, 

Unless  you  're  beaten  there,  you  're  bound  to  win. ' ' 

It's  wonderful  how  great  is  the  power  of  pluck. 
Every  man  who  has  conquered  success,  in  whatever  call- 
ing, has  possessed  it.  He  has  been  full  of  the  courage 
to  do,  and  the  pluck  and  nerve  to  hang  on  until  it  is 
done. 

Of  course  you  may  get  knocked  out  for  a  time.  The 
best  of  men  do — but  it  doesn't  count  as  long  as  you  do 
not  stay  out.  Get  up  again,  take  a  fresh  hold,  and  go 
at  it  harder  than  ever,  with  renewed  energy  and  de- 
termination. Remember,  disappointments  and  discour- 
agements are  necessary  to  the  highest  development  of 
our  powers.  It  often  requires  some  great  disaster,  some 
overwhelming  opposition  to  discover  our  real  strength 
and  resource.  Such  obstacles  are  a  test  of  our  worth. 
If  we  go  down  under  them  we  are  lost,  if  we  surmount 
them  we  are  conquerors.  Mistakes  you  may  make,  but 
to  failure  you  must  never  succumb.  The  man  who  ad- 
mits failure  is  a  weakling  beyond  measure.  Ever  after- 
wards he  is  timid  and  lacks  that  powerful  confidence 
which  results  from  successful  achievement.  There  is 
nothing  that  so  convinces  a  man  of  his  own  infallibility, 
and  is  such  an  incentive  to  further  effort,  as  seeing  the 
success  of  his  work.  Be  enterprising.  Be  plucky. 


378  BUSINESS  SUCCESS. 

Business  Ability. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  ability — natural  ability  and 
acquired  ability.  I  have  more  faith  in  the  latter  than 
the  former,  on  the  principle  that  what  comes  easy  goes 
easy,  and  what  you  get  by  hard  knocks  usually  sticks. 
It  is  a  fortunate  thing  for  the  majority  of  us  that  ability 
can  be  acquired.  It  is  gained  by  experience  and  study, 
by  doing  things  over  and  over  again  and  watching  the 
results,  by  learning  how  not  to  make  the  same  mistake 
twice,  and  how  to  follow  up  and  develop  each  successful 
action.  The  very  best  way  to  get  ability  is  to  do  thor- 
oughly whatever  you  do.  Master  every  detail  of  each 
piece  of  work  that  falls  to  your  lot.  Really  the  genius 
of  success  is  nothing  more  than  doing  well  whatever 
you  do.  If  this  rule  is  followed  you  cannot  fail  to  de- 
velop ability  of  some  kind,  and  how  great  your  ability 
becomes  is  largely  dependent  upon  your  capacity  for 
learning.  But  remember  this,  it  is  much  better  and 
vastly  more  profitable  to  know  how  to  do  a  few  things 
well  than  to  do  a  great  many  things  indifferently.  Be 
a  specialist  in  something,  and  then  take  on,  besides,  all 
you  can.  It  is  the  man  who  learns  to  do  some  one  thing 
better  than  it  has  ever  been  done  before  who  wins  the 
prize.  Practice,  constant  practice,  is  the  only  way  to 
acquire  sound  business  ability. 

With  practice  and  experience  come  good  judgment. 
Good  business  judgment  is  nothing  more  than  applying 
to  your  work  the  sound  principles  you  have  learned  by 
hard  experience.  There's  not  much  chance  for  a  man 
to  display  judgment  unless  he  has  been  through  the  mill 
himself.  I  believe  there  is  such  a  thing  as  business  in- 
stinct, by  which  some  men  seem  to  know  intuitively  the 


BUSINESS  SUCCESS.  379 

right  decision  and  the  psychological  moment  for  action. 
But  I  also  believe  that  this  power  can  be  acquired  by 
studious  experience.  The  very  best  way  to  gain  busi- 
ness ability  is  to  dig  deep  down  into  every  transaction 
you  handle,  and  find  out  the  reason  for  it.  Investigate, 
analyze,  study.  Do  not  be  content  to  do  things  by  rule 
alone ;  know  the  why  and  the  wherefore  of  them.  Mas- 
ter every  position  which  you  occupy  and  learn  as  much 
as  you  can  about  the  one  just  ahead  of  you. 

Let  your  watchwords  be:  Development,  Improve- 
ment, Progress.  Take  stock  of  yourself  very  fre- 
quently, and  find  out  if  you  are  developing,  improving 
and  getting  ahead,  and  if  you  are  not,  find  out  the  rea- 
son and  do  not  blame  anyone  but  yourself,  for  develop- 
ment and  improvement  depend  upon  yourself,  and  your- 
self alone.  Get  these  things  into  line  and  nothing  will 
stop  your  progress,  for  in  business  the  demand  for  ex- 
ceptional ability  is  always  greater  than  the  supply. 

My  faith  in  man's  ability  to  learn  is  so  great  I  be- 
lieve with  energy  and  perseverance  he  can  fit  himself 
for  any  kind  of  position.  I  believe  he  can  be  prac- 
tically wrhat  he  wants  to  be,  if  lie  is  willing  to  pay  the 
price.  Great  success  demands  a  great  price.  The  things 
worth  having  in  this  world  all  command  high  prices, 
and  must  be  striven  for.  It  is  through  tremendous  striv- 
ing that  we  develop.  If  there  was  nothing  to  strive 
for  we  would  not  exert  ourselves,  and  without  exertion 
there  would  be  no  development,  no  growth. 

Ability  is  the  award  of  patient,  tireless,  dogged  per- 
severance. Its  acquirement  is  worth  a  mighty  effort, 
for  it  is  by  the  exercise  of  it  that  men  gain  power,  fame 
and  riches  in  business. 


380  BUSINESS  SUCCESS. 

A  great  aid  in  acquiring  business  ability  is  to  study 
successful  men  and  successful  methods.  There's  a  rea- 
son for  every  man's  success,  and  a  knowledge  of  how 
the  great  men  of  business — the  captains  of  industry- 
have  won  their  positions  cannot  fail  to  interest  as  well 
as  instruct  those  who  indulge  an  ambition  to  follow  in 
their  footsteps.  The  more  you  study  the  biographies 
of  successful  men  and  their  methods,  the  better  you  will 
understand  that  there  is  less  of  genius  and  mystery  in 
their  make-up  and  more  of  everyday  common  sense  and 
hard  work  than  is  generally  thought. 

In  the  development  of  one's  business  ability,  it  is  im- 
portant to  ascertain  as  early  as  possible  your  natural 
points  of  strength  so  you  can  work  in  that  direction. 
Most  men  are  cut  out  for  some  one  particular  kind  of 
work  more  than  another,  and  a  man's  best  chance  is  to 
follow  the  career  for  which  nature  intended  him.  And 
remember  always  that  it  is  better  to  be  a  success  in  some- 
thing, even  if  it  is  short  of  your  desires,  than  to  attempt 
more  than  you  are  capable  of  and  fail  at  it.  Human 
effort  has  its  limitations,  and  that  man  is  the  wisest  who 
finds  his  limits  and  succeeds  within  them,  rather  than  to 
aim  at  something  outside  his  range  which  he  can  never 
reach.  When  a  man  has  made  the  most  of  what  he  is, 
he  has  won  success,  and  nothing  short  of  it  should  sat- 
isfy him. 

In  business  watch  your  competitors.  Never  for  an 
instant  allow  yourself  to  entertain  the  idea  that  you  are 
above  or  superior  to  competition.  The  successful  gen- 
eral is  the  one  who  rather  over-estimates  than  under-esti- 
mates  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  and  prepares  for  the 
worst.  No  one  man  or  concern  has  a  monopoly  of  all 


BUSINESS  SUCCESS.  381 

the  best  brains  and  methods.  He  is  a  mighty  smart  one 
who  can  acquire  a  little  more  than  the  average.  Let 
competition  be  an  incentive  to  your  energy  and  ambi- 
tion. Give  the  other  fellow  a  fair,  square  deal  and  beat 
him  out  on  your  merits. 

System. 

The  man  who  aims  at  business  success  must  become 
a  master  of  system.  A  business  man  without  system 
is  like  a  ship  without  a. rudder.  System  not  only  helps 
you  to  steer  your  business  craft  on  a  straight  course,  but 
increases  her  speed.  It  saves  time,  it  saves  waste,  it  in- 
sures accuracy  and  dispatch.  With  system  there  is  al- 
most no  end  to  what  a  man  may  do;  without  it  he  is  a 
slave  to  detail,  confined  to  the  narrow  limits  of  his  own 
hands. 

System  should  begin  with  your  personal  habits.  The 
first  thing  to  organize  or  systemize  is  your  time.  Have 
a  time  for  each  part  of  your  work  and  plan  ahead  for 
every  hour  of  the  day.  Do  the  important  things  first. 
To  be  systematic  is  to  be  regular,  and  the  man  who  is 
not  regular  and  prompt  in  his  business  invites  disaster 
to  his  undertakings,  just  as  he  invites  disease  when  he 
is  irregular  in  the  habits  of  his  body.  Learn  to  be  or- 
derly and  systemize  in  the  little  personal  things,  and 
then  you  will  find  it  easy  to  be  systematic  in  business, 
in  the  office,  at  your  desk.  Each  day  should  have  its 
plan  and  a  list  of  the  things  to  be  done.  Such  a  sys- 
tem will  save  aimlessness  and  time  wasted  in  deciding 
what  first  to  take  up.  Look  ahead,  work  along  well 
defined  lines;  don't  scatter — concentrate. 

Look  out  for  a  man  with  a  plan  and  the  will  to  put  it 
into  effect.  The  great  battles  of  commerce,  like  the 


382  BUSINESS  SUCCESS. 

great  battles  of  war,  are  won  by  the  expert  in  strategy, 
by  those  who  can  wisely  plan,  and  boldly  and  carefully 
execute.  We  are  all  architects  of  our  own  fortune,  but 
too  many  are  working  without  plans  or  specifications, 
so  no  wonder  the  structure  is  without  form  or  stability. 
The  man  who  works  along  definite,  systematic  lines 
knows  just  where  he  is  at,  and  what  he  wants  to  accom- 
plish. He  constantly  consults  his  chart,  keeps  his  eye 
on  the  goal  for  which  he  is  headed,  and  works  with  un- 
diminished  energy  and  perseverance  closer  and  closer 
to  it. 

Organization,  which  is  the  greatest  factor  in  develop- 
ing and  building  up  a  great  enterprise,  is  nothing  more 
than  the  application  of  system  in  handling  men  and  af- 
fairs. In  other  words,  organizing  is  systematizing.  Its 
object  is  to  bring  men  and  work  into  harmonious  rela- 
tions, with  a  view  to  reducing  friction  and  cutting  out 
waste,  and  through  co-operation  to  increase  efficiency. 
There  is  practically  no  limit  to  the  possibilities  of  organ- 
ization. 

The  power  of  organizing  is  exercised  by  that  greatest 
and  rarest  business  qualification  called  executive  ability. 
Executive  ability  may  be  described  as  aptness  for  sys- 
tem and  capacity  for  action,  through  the  skillful  and  af- 
fable handling  of  men. 

Without  organization  and  system,  business  would  still 
be  done  on  the  small  scale  of  olden  days,  and  the  business 
man  would  still  be  an  insignificant  trader  or  small  in- 
dividual manufacturer  instead  of  the  great  captain  of 
industry  of  today. 


BUSINESS  SUCCESS.  888 

Enthusiasm. 

Human  nature  may  be  divided  into  two  great  classes, 
those  who  are  enthusiastic  in  their  dispositions  and  those 
of  a  pessimistic  nature.  There  are  so  many  advantages 
in  enthusiasm,  the  great  wonder  is  that  there  are  so  many 
pessimists. 

To  be  enthusiastic  is  to  be  hopeful,  to  be  cheerful,  to 
be  confident.  To  be  pessimistic  is  to  see  things  through 
dark  spectacles,  to  declaim  against  fate  and  to  expect 
disaster. 

At  the  root  of  enthusiasm  you  will  find  faith  in  man- 
kind, faith  in  the  world  and  faith  in  yourself.  The  en- 
thusiastic man  is  thankful  that  he  is  alive.  He  finds 
the  world  a  fine  place  to  live  in.  He  believes  he  has 
been  sent  into  it  for  a  purpose,  and  is  determined  to 
make  the  most  of  its  vast  opportunities. 

And  the  poor  pessimist,  he  is  disgruntled,  nothing  suits 
him.  People  and  things  bore  him,  and  he  trusts  nobody, 
not  even  himself.  He  is  out  of  step  with  progress,  and 
altogether  he  is  a  very  miserable  spectacle. 

Enthusiasm  can  be  cultivated.  Nature  intended  us 
to  be  enthusiastic,  for  surely  man's  position  in  the  world 
as  the  greatest  and  most  marvelous  of  God's  creatures 
is  in  itself  an  inspiring  thing.  Think  of  it!  Man  has 
within  him  the  power  and  capacity  to  command  and  en- 
joy all  the  marvelous  things  the  world  contains.  They 
have  been  created  for  his  use  and  enjoyment.  He  is  in- 
vited to  partake  of  them.  It  is  surely  a  grand  thing 
to  be  born  into  such  a  world.  It  is  surely  a  marvelous 
chance  that  is  afforded  us.  We  are  brought  into  this 
vast  field  of  opportunity  with  body  and  mind  capable  of 
the  highest  development.  We  have  the  means  within 


884  HCHNISS  iUCCIML 

ourselves  to  make  of  ourselves  almost  anything  we  want 
to  be.     What  a  chance  and  what  a  responsibility ! 

No  man  should  ask  for,  or  expect,  more  than  a  fair 
chance  to  show  what  he  can  do.  The  man  who  is  born 
into  the  world  with  a  position  made  for  him,  is  handi- 
capped as  compared  with  the  man  who  has  nothing  but 
his  God-given  talents  to  depend  upon.  That  position 
and  success  which  we  gain  by  our  own  hard  efforts  is  ten 
times  as  sweet  and  ten  times  as  -creditable  as  the  highest 
position  in  the  land  inherited. 

The  young  man  who  inherits  wealth  and  position  is 
without  the  greatest  incentives  to  effort  and  development 
— want  and  poverty.  Envy  him  not.  The  temptations 
of  the  well-to-do  are  greater  than  those  of  small  means, 
It  requires  great  self  denial  and  much  ambition  for 
such  to  devote  themselves  to  the  hard  work  necessary  to 
win  success. 

In  all  this  I  wish  to  make  plain  that  the  first  essential 
of  enthusiasm  is  a  satisfied  feeling  towards  the  world 
and  a  lively  appreciation  of  its  opportunities.  Be  sure 
you  will  get  a  square  deal,  and  nothing  more.  A  man 
generally  gets  out  of  life  what  he  puts  into  it.  The 
trouble  with  most  disappointed  people  is  that  they  are 
looking  for  larger  returns  than  their  investment  entitles 
them  to. 

Once  you  become  satisfied  with  the  world  as  a  field  for 
your  operations,  the  next  thing  is  to  get  in  love  with  your 
work — that's  the  only  way  to  develop  genuine  enthusi- 
asm. Enthusiasm  to  be  genuine  must  be  spontaneous,  it 
must  be  the  kind  that  bubbles  over  of  its  own  accord, 
without  effort — anything  else  is  a  makeshift  and  a  coun- 
terfeit. Enthusiasm  is  contagious,  and  it's  a  good  thing 


BUSINESS  SUCCESS.  385 

to  catch  and  indulge.  Most  of  the  great  things  in  this 
world ,  indeed,  it  is  safe  to  say  all  the  really  great  things 
have  been  the  result  of  intense  enthusiasm.  Enthusi- 
asm is  earnestness,  and  the  downright  earnest  man  gets 
results. 

Enthusiasm  is  to  a  business  what  patriotism  is  to  an 
army;  it  gives  zest  and  inspiration  to  its  transaction 
which  is  a  power  of  tremendous  force.  I  would  rather 
have  ten  enthusiastic  men  around  me  in  developing  a 
business  than  a  hundred  of  the  same  capacity  who  lacked 
enthusiasm. 

Character. 

Business  is  but  a  means  to  an  end.  A  man  may  be  an 
unqualified  success  in  business  and  gain  wealth,  power 
and  fame,  yet  his  life  may  be  a  failure.  The  test  of  the 
successful  life  comes  when  a  man  stands  at  last  before 
his  Maker.  The  only  thing  that  counts  then  is  charac- 
ter. The  accumulations  of  a  life-time  of  toil  and  strug- 
gle, in  property,  goods  and  money,  count  for  nothing. 
These  must  all  be  left  behind.  The  only  accumulations 
we  can  take  with  us  into  the  great  hereafter  are  those  of 
character.  The  question  we  will  be  called  upon  to  an- 
swer at  this  supreme  moment  is  not  "what  have  you  left?" 
but  "what  do  you  bring?" 

And  what  is  character,  and  how  is  it  formed? 

Character  is  your  personality,  it  is  the  thing  that  dis- 
tinguishes you  from  others.  It  is  the  thing  you  have 
come  to  be  through  all  the  good  and  bad,  the  pleasant  and 
the  hard  experiences  of  your  life.  It  is  the  realization 
of  yourself. 

Character  is  formed  by  conduct.  Conduct  is  the  re- 
sult of  habits,  and  habits  are  acquired  by  action. 

I.B.L.  Vol.  2—25 


386  BUSINESS  SUCCESS. 

Everything  that  we  do,  good  and  bad,  has  its  effect  on 
character.  Our  thoughts,  our  conversation,  our  every 
transaction,  trifling  or  important,  all  go  to  make  up  our 
personality  (and  form  our  character).  And  one  thing 
is  certain,  we  are  always  changing.  We  are  growing 
better,  or  we  are  growing  worse.  Our  characters  are 
growing  stronger,  or  they  are  growing  weaker.  There 
is  no  escape  from  the  universal  law  of  activity  and 
change. 

The  great  thing  is  to  make  sure  we  are  headed  the 
right  way  and  moving  in  the  right  direction.  This  can 
only  be  made  certain  by  adhering  to  fixed  principles  and 
striving  for  some  worthy  ideal.  It  means  self -discipline, 
self-restraint  and  the  practice  of  virtue. 

There  are  three  stages  in  the  making  of  character- 
know  thyself,  fight  thyself,  conquer  thyself. 

Strike  out  on  your  own  lines.  Do  your  own  thinking. 
Become  a  positive  personality,  and  fear  no  one  but  your 
Maker.  Fix  your  aim  and  purpose,  then  begin  to  build 
your  character.  Build  it  bit  by  bit,  as  you  develop  your 
work  or  build  your  business,  always  improving  and  pro- 
gressing toward  your  ideal. 

The  greatest  help  to  this  end  is  the  forming  of  right 
habits.  Here  are  some  of  the  things  that  should  be 
crystallized  into  habits:  Be  fair.  Do  your  duty  fear- 
lessly and  cheerfully.  Be  considerate,  be  polite.  Be 
courageous.  Be  high  toned.  Be  unselfish.  Speak  ill 
of  no  one.  Be  natural — the  same  to  everyone.  Ac- 
knowledge when  you  are  in  the  wrong.  Forgive  freely. 
You  can't  please  everyone — do  not  try.  Never  forget 
a  kindness.  Help  those  who  are  struggling  up.  Share 


BUSINESS  SUCCESS.  387 

your  prosperity  with  those  who  have  helped  you  gain  it. 
Do  not  let  prosperity  or  success  spoil  you.  Live  straight 
in  every  way.  Be  a  man.  Make  your  work  count  for 
eternity. 


QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 


SALESMANSHIP  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Self-training  in  Salesmanship. 

1.  Is  a  knowledge  of  salesmanship  required  in  every 
business  career? 

2.  Why  is  it  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  a  professional 
man  need  know  nothing  about  salesmanship? 

3.  Can   the    faculties    and   methods   employed   by 
"born"  salesmen  be  cultivated  and  developed  by  others? 

4.  What  are  the  essentials  of  salesmanship? 

5.  Why  is  a  store  of  general  knowledge  desirable 
in  a  salesman? 

6.  Why  is  it  necessary  to  train  the  senses  for  success- 
ful salesmanship? 

7.  How  can  good  business  judgment  be  acquired? 

8.  What  is  the  function  of  the  reasoning  faculty  in 
business  affairs? 

9.  Is  quick  judgment  always  desirable  in  business? 

10.  What  foes  of  reason  must  be  combated  in  self- 
training? 

11.  Why  should  the  salesman's  memory  and  capacity 
for  knowledge  be  carefully  trained? 

12.  Why  is  it  important  to  acquire  the  habit  of  con- 
centration? 

13.  What  is  the  advantage  to  salesmen  and  mer- 
chants of  possessing  an  active  imagination? 

14.  How  is  the  power  of  the  human  will  constantly 
exercised  in  salesmanship? 

389 


.390  QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 

15.  What  are  the  advantages  of  originality  and 
power  of  initiative  in  business  life? 

16.  Name  the  various  steps  required  in  self -train- 
ing for  successful  salesmanship. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Principles  of  Salesmanship. 

1.  What  are  the  six  distinct  steps  in  selling  noted  by 
scientific  salesmanship? 

2.  What  are  the  three  principal  elements  of  a  sale? 

3.  What  methods  are  commonly  employed  in  finding 
prospective  customers? 

4.  What  preliminary  preparation  is  necessary  before 
a  salesman  should  approach  a  prospect? 

5.  What  four  distinct  mental  attitudes  must  a  cus- 
tomer pass  through  before  a  sale  is  closed? 

6.  Why  do  young  men  often  find  it  difficult  to  gain 
access  to  prospective  customers? 

7.  What  is  the  method  of  approach  that  generally 
commands  respect? 

8.  What  is  usually  accomplished  in  the  first  moments 
of  an  interview? 

9.  How  can  the  effects  of  an  unfavorable  first  im- 
pression be  counteracted? 

10.  What  is  meant  by  the  "demonstration"  and  what 
are  its  three  objects? 

11.  Should  a  selling  talk  always  be  prepared  in  ad- 
vance? 

12.  Why  should  the  fullest  possible  trial  always  be 
given  by  a  salesman  to  the  selling  talk  prescribed  for  his 
use? 


QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW.  391 

13.  On  what  three  points  must  the  prospect  be  con- 
vinced by  the  demonstration  and  selling  argument? 

14.  Why  is  "knowing  when  to  stop*'  a  very  import- 
ant consideration  in  making  a  sale? 

15.  What  is  meant  by  "the  psychological  moment" 
in  closing  a  sale? 

16.  How  should  the  salesman's  mentality  be  exer- 
cised in  closing  sales? 

17.  What  is  a  good  brief  definition  of  a  sale? 

18.  Upon  what  does  the  selling  power  of  a  salesman 
depend? 

19.  What  are  the  "twenty  weapons  of  attack,"  so 
called? 

20.  Why  is  systematized  knowledge  the  salesman's 
best  weapon? 

21.  How  does  enthusiasm  add  to  selling  ability? 

22.  How  can  selling  force  be  maintained  at  the 
proper  pitch? 

23.  What  is  meant  by  the  "sixth  sense"  and  how  is 
it  applied  in  salesmanship? 

24.  How  does  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  physi- 
ognomy assist  the  salesman? 

25.  Name  some  of  the  varied  types  of  buyers  en- 
countered by  salesmen. 

26.  What  is  understood  by  the  exercise  of  will  power 
in  selling  goods? 

27.  Into  what  elements  may  will  power  be  resolved? 

28.  What  are  the  possibilities  of  voice  culture  in 
salesmanship  ? 

29.  What  is  meant  by  Suggestion,  and  how  is  it 
employed  in  selling? 

30.  What  is  Auto-suggestion? 


392  QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 

CHAPTER  III. 

Marketing  a  Product. 

1.  What  is  meant  by  the  organization  of  distributive 
industries  ? 

2.  Why  were  special  markets  established  for  various 
lines  of  trade? 

3.  Name  several  cities  in  Canada  where  well-recog- 
nized distributive  markets  are  found. 

4.  What  cities  are  recognized  as  world-markets  for 
various  lines  of  trade? 

5.  What  is  the  function  of  wholesale  or  jobbing 
centers? 

6.  What  is  the  true  local  market  ? 

7.  What  are  the  factors  in  the  modern  organization 
of  distribution  in  larger  market  centers? 

8.  How  are  raw  materials,  especially  agricultural 
products,  distributed? 

9.  How  are  manufactured  articles  distributed? 

10.  What  is  the  important  task  that  confronts  a 
manufacturer  in  the  distribution  of  his  product  from 
the  factory? 

11.  What  is  the  primary  function  of  the  jobber  or 
wholesaler? 

12.  What  effect  has  the  establishment  of  department 
stores  had  upon  the  wholesale  business? 

13.  How  many  classes  of  jobbing  houses  may  be 
noted? 

14.  What  are  the  two  principal  methods  of  market- 
ing the  product  of  a  manufacturing  concern? 

15.  What  are  the  functions  of  a  sales  department? 

16.  What  is  the  great  advantage  of  a  special  sales 
force  ? 


QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW.  393 

17.  How  can  a  manufacturer  influence  the  jobbing 
trade? 

18.  What  are  the  special  functions  of  an  advertis- 
ing department? 

19.  How  does  a  professional  advertising  agency 
work  in  cooperation  with  an  advertising  department? 

20.  Why  is  it  often  best  for  the  manufacturer  to 
delegate  the  work  of  securing  publicity  for  his  product 
to  an  advertising  agency? 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Personality  of  the  Salesman. 

1.  What  is  the  distinction  made  by  business  mana- 
gers between  "clerks"  and  "salesmen?" 

2.  In  what  stages  of  the  sale  does  the  personality  of 
the  salesman  count? 

3.  Why  are  trained  faculties  required  for  success- 
ful salesmanship? 

4.  How  can  the  intuitive  faculty  be  developed? 

5.  Why  is  the  personal  appearance  of  the  salesman 
an  important  factor  in  success? 

6.  What  general  rules  should  be  followed  as  regards 
care  of  the  personal  appearance,  dress,  etc.? 

7.  What  effect  has  character  upon  the  personality  of 
the  salesman? 

8.  Name  some  of  the  factors  of  character  which  make 
for  success  in  salesmanship. 

9.  How  does  an  expert  salesman  manifest  his  intelli- 
gence? 

10.  Why  is  tact  necessary  in  the  make-up  of  a  sales- 
man, and  how  may  it  be  cultivated  ? 


394  QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 

11.  Why  is  it  important  for  a  salesman  to  possess 
self-control,  and  how  can  it  be  acquired? 

12.  What  are  the  demands  of  courtesy  in  wholesale 
and  in  retail  selling? 

18.  How  do  cheerfulness  and  promptness  of  speech 
and  action  aid  the  salesman  ? 

14.  Why  is  earnestness  of  purpose  a  prime  requisite 
of  salesmanship  character? 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Scientific  Salesman. 

1.  Is  hypnotic  science  required  for  successful  sales- 
manship? 

2.  Is  salesmanship  a  mystic  science? 

3.  What  is  scientific  salesmanship,  rightly  so-called? 

4.  What  is  the  difference  between  a  scientific  sales- 
man and  an  "ordinary"  salesman? 

5.  Name  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the  scientific 
salesman. 

6.  Is  a  high-school  or  college  education  absolutely 
necessary  for  successful  salesmanship? 

7.  How  can  deficiencies  of  education  be  supplied  ? 

8.  Can  a  clerk  or  mechanic  become  a  scientific  sales- 
man, and  how? 

9.  Why  is  it  important  for  the  salesman  to  be  a 
student  of  human  nature? 

10.  How  does  the  scientific  salesman  aid  his  memory 
in  keeping  track  of  customers  and  prospects? 

11.  Why  is  it  advisable  to  study  the  goods  and  meth- 
ods of  competitors? 

12.  Should  it  end  the  matter  with  a  scientific  sales- 
man when  he  is  "turned  down"  by  a  prospect? 


QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW.  395 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Selling  At  Wholesale. 

1.  Why  is  a  special  training  in  the  home  office  or 
store  often  necessary  for  a  wholesale  salesman? 

2.  Through  what  positions  does  a  wholesale  salesman 
often  pass  before  he  is  qualified  for  the  road? 

3.  How  does  the  up-to-date  salesman  turn  failure 
into  success? 

4.  What  is  a  good  short  method  employed  by  sales- 
men for  correcting  their  mistakes? 

5.  How  does  selling  to  a  department  store  buyer 
differ  from  selling  to  a  small  retail  merchant? 

6.  What  is  the  advantage  of  using  "leaders"  only 
in  showing  samples? 

7.  What  methods  are  employed  by  successful  sales- 
men to  turn  customers  into  friends? 

8.  Do  wholesale  houses  find  that  it  pays  to  be  oblig- 
ing to  customers  and  help  them  in  every  possible  way? 

9.  What  are  the  bases  of  successful  wholesale  busi- 
ness? 

10.  Are  the  opportunities  for  young  men  to  rise  to 
the  head  of  large  mercantile  houses  as  good  as  they  were 
a  few  years  ago? 

11.  What  are  the  qualifications  and  intellectual  re- 
quirements of  a  successful  wholesale  merchant? 

12.  What  are  the  qualifications  and  responsibilities  of 
large  buyers  of  merchandise? 

13.  Why  must  the  successful  merchant  possess  the 
varied  qualifications  of  salesmanship? 

14.  Name  the  two  characteristics  of  a  thoroughly 
equipped  salesman? 


396  QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 

15.  How  has  time  become  the  essence  of  a  modern 
business  transaction? 

16.  Mention  some  of  the  details  of  the  daily  routine 
of  a  wholesale  business. 

17.  What  happens  to  an  order  when  it  returns  to  the 
order  department  after  passing  through  the  hands  of 
the  bookkeeper  and  credit  man  ? 

18.  Name   some   of   the   other   departments   of   a 
wholesale  business. 

19.  Why  are  labor  and  study  essential  to  success  in 
wholesale  selling? 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Selling  At  Retail. 

1.  Upon  what  does  successful  salesmanship  in  retail 
business  depend  ? 

2.  How  do  customers  in  a  retail  store  learn  to  regard 
the  salesman  as  a  friend  ? 

3.  Is  it  feasible  to  prepare  a  separate  selling  talk 
for  each  article  sold  in  a  retail  store? 

4.  Why  should  the  retail  salesman  make  a  constant 
study  of  all  the  goods  which  he  is  called  upon  to  handle? 

5.  In  what  important  respect  does  a  retail  salesman 
differ  from  a  wholesale  salesman? 

6.  How  can  the  retail  salesman  assist  a  customer's 
decision? 

7.  What  are  the  qualities  in  a  retail  salesman  that 
win  recognition? 

8.  What  are  the  four  stages  of  a  retail  sale? 

9.  How  can  the  attention  of  the  customer  be  secured  ? 

10.  How  is  interest  aroused  in  the  customer? 


QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW.  397 

11.  What  effect  has  courtesy  of  the  salesman  upon  a 
retail  sale? 

12.  How  is  desire  to  be  created  in  retail  selling? 

13.  What  is  meant  by  the  "purchasing  impulse"  and 
how  is  it  aroused? 

14.  Why  does  one  salesman  or  clerk  have  more  sales 
than  another? 

15.  Why  do  customers  prefer  some  one  salesman  to 
wait  upon  them? 

16.  Is  filling  orders  properly  termed  salesmanship? 

17.  What  is  the  meaning  of  salesmanship  in  a  retail 
store? 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Practical  Instructions  To  Salesmen. 

1.  Do  up-to-date  business  houses  usually  prepare 
specific  instructions  for  their  road-men? 

2.  What  four  steps  are  recognized  as  taking  place 
in  the  customer's  mind  before  a  sale  is  effected? 

3.  Are  cards  generally  used  by  live  salesmen? 

4.  What  should  be  done  by  the  salesman  before  mak- 
ing a  call  at  a  store  for  business? 

5.  How  can  the  attention  of  a  banker  be  secured? 

6.  In  selling  an  advertising  service  when  should  the 
customer  first  be  given  a  chance  to  buy? 

7.  What  four  things  are  laid  down  in  the  typical  set 
of  instructions  contained  in  this  chapter  as  going    to 
make  up  a  salesman? 

8.  What  is  usually  the  main  difference  between  a 
$1.00  man  and  a  $10,000  man? 

9.  What  is  the  advantage  to  the  salesman  of  re- 
ceiving specific  instructions  from  the  house? 


398  QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Approach. 

1.  What  is  meant  by  "the  approach"  in  salesman- 
ship? 

2.  Is  it  possible  to  prescribe  a  definite  form  of  words 
to  be  used  by  salesmen  in  all  cases  when  they  approach 
business  men? 

8.  Why  must  a  great  deal  be- left  to  the  discretion 
of  the  salesman? 

4.  How  should  a  salesman  make  known  his  business 
errand? 

5.  Should  a  store-keeper  be  approached  with  a  funny 
story  or  an  attempt  at  wit? 

6.  How  does  success  in  selling  depend  largely  on  the 
result  of  the  first  interview? 

7.  What  is  the  first  point  to  be  taken  care  of  in 
approaching  a  prospect? 

8.  Why  is  it  necessary  to  develop  the  powers  of  ob- 
servation in  selling  such  articles  as  cash  registers? 

9.  What  is  a  diagram  card  and  for  what  purpose  is  it 
used? 

10.  Is  it  worth  while  to  take  time  to  investigate  the 
conditions  in  a  store  before  attempting  to  sell  a  new 
business  system? 

11.  What  form  of  address  should  be  used  in  first 
meeting  a  retail  storekeeper? 

12.  How  can  his  attention  be  secured? 

18.  Why  must  a  salesman  always  keep  his  temper  and 
avoid  antagonizing  the  prospect? 

14.  Is  it  advisable  to  use  such  a  phrase  as  "If  you 
will  give  me  your  attention  for  a  few  moments,  I  pro- 
pose to  tell  you  so  and  so?" 


QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW.  399 

15.  What  is  the  purpose  of  the  first  interview  in  sel- 
ling such  an  article  as  a  cash  register? 

16.  Is  it  advisable  to  give  the  prospect  an  imaginary 
demonstration  without  a  sample  at  hand? 

17.  In  selling  a  business  system  what  point  should 
be  brought  constantly  to  the  front? 

18.  Why  should  the  prospect's  direct  inquiries  be  an- 
swered directly  without  dodging? 

19.  How  can  a  prospect  be  impressed  with  the  im- 
portance of  keeping  an  appointment  for  demonstration? 

20.  Should  a  salesman  ever  wait  at  a  hotel  or  office 
for  a  merchant  to  keep  an  appointment?     If  not,  why 
not? 

21.  Name  some  good  forms  of  appeal  for  a  demon- 
stration. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  Demonstration. 

1.  Why  should  the  attention  of  the  prospect  be  di- 
rected to  the  goods  or  machine  which  he  ought  to  have, 
rather  than  to  higher-priced  goods? 

2.  Should  a  salesman  try  to  sell  higher-priced  goods 
solely  for  the  sake  of  the  increased  commission? 

3.  Why  should  a  salesman  adapt  his  selling  talk  and 
demonstration  to  the  prospect's  actual  requirements? 

4.  Should  the  salesman  ever  take  a  defensive  atti- 
tude? 

5.  Should    a  prospect  be    kept  standing  during  a 
demonstration  ? 

6.  What  is  the  fundamental  idea  to  be  kept  in  mind 
in  demonstrating  a  cash  register  or  other  goods? 


400  QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 

7.  How  can  the  interest  of  a  prospect  be  warmed  up 
to  the  same  point  as  when  the  appointment  was  made  for 
a  demonstration? 

8.  What  is  the  advantage  to  a  salesman  in  having 
carefully  studied  the  prospect's  business? 

9.  How  can  the  salesman  aid  the  customer  in  choos- 
ing the  proper  style  of  register  or  other  goods? 

10.  What  is  meant  by  "taking  a  merchant  up  the 
line?" 

11.  Why  should  statements  of  fact  be  made  clear, 
strong  and  few? 

12.  What  is  the  effect  of  oratory  or  humor  in  selling 
goods? 

13.  Why  should  the  salesman  remember  that  he  alone 
knows  both  sides  of  the  question? 

14.  Does  it  follow  because  a  prospect  listens  in  silence 
that  he  agrees  with  the  salesman  or  understands  all  he 
says? 

15.  Why  is  it  important  to  get  the  assent  of  the  pros- 
pect to  every  statement  that  is  open  to  question  before 
proceeding  to  another? 

16.  What  is  the  danger  arising  from  leaving  a  weak 
link  in  the  selling  argument? 

17.  What  is  the  effect  upon  the  prospect  of  palpable 
sincerity  in  the  salesman? 

18.  What  general  statements  should  be  agreed  upon 
by  prospect  and  salesman  before  proceeding  with  the 
argument  in  selling  such  an  article  as  a  cash  register? 

19.  What  arguments  can  be  brought  to  bear  to  close 
the  immediate  sale  of  a  money-saving  article  or  propo- 
sition? 

20.  What  is  the  great  object  of  the  demonstration? 


QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW.  401 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Closing  The  Sale. 

1.  What  qualities  must  be  exercised  by  the  salesman 
in  presenting  an  order-form  to  a  probable  purchaser? 

2.  What  is  the  advantage  of  having  the  order-form 
partly  filled  out  in  advance? 

3.  When  may  the  psychological  moment  for  present- 
ing the  order  for  signature  arrive? 

4.  What  is  a  good  method  of  introducing  the  order- 
blank? 

5.  What  is  the  impression  that  must  be  avoided  in 
seeking  to  close  a  sale? 

6.  What  is  usually  the  hardest  time  the  agent  exper- 
iences in  closing  a  sale? 

7.  Should  a  man  be  bluntly  asked  for  an  order? 

8.  What  arguments  can  be  used  when  the  prospect 
objects  to  signing  an  order? 

9.  Why  should  a  salesman  not  intrude  his  person- 
ality on  the  notice  of  a  prospect? 

10.  How  can  he  make  the  prospect  confine  his  at- 
tention to  study  of  the  goods? 

11.  What  is  the  surest  way  for  a  salesman  to  arouse 
and  keep  up  the  interest  of  the  prospect? 

12.  Why  should  every  demonstration  be  made  en- 
thusiastic and  fresh? 

13.  Should  a  salesman  slight  any  point  in  the  dem- 
onstration on  the  assumption  that  it  will  have  no  interest 
for  the  prospect? 

14.  Why  is  it  essential  to  know  when  to  stop  the  ar- 
gument? 

15.  Should  a  prospect  be  allowed  to  lead  and  shape 
the  argument? 

I.B.J,.    Vol.  2—26 


QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 


16.     Name  some  of  the  things  that  should  be  avoided 
by  salesmen  during  a  demonstration? 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Getting  The  Order  Signed. 

1.  What  is  the  crucial  test  of  salesmanship? 

2.  What  kind  of  salesmen  need  a  special  training  in 
the  art  of  closing? 

3.  How  can  a  salesman  train  himself  to  know  when 
the  moment  to  close  has  arrived? 

4.  What  is  the  effect  upon  a  prospect  favorably  in- 
clined if  the  salesman  persists  in  unnecessary  details? 

5.  What  is  the  danger  if  the  salesman  is  premature 
in  attempting  the  close  ? 

6.  Does  a  careful  salesman  every  try  to  close  pre- 
maturely? 

7.  What  is  the  effect  to  be  desired  in  a  closing  argu- 
ment? 

8.  Can  salesmen  generally  rely  upon  closing  a  sale  by 
mere  force  of  genial  personality  ? 

9.  How  can  the  preconceived  favorable  opinions  of  a 
prospect  be  made  to  reinforce  the  convictions  developed 
by  the  selling  talk? 

10.  How  should  favorable  admissions  which  the  pros- 
pect may  have  made  be  recalled  in  the  closing  argument? 

11.  How  can  the  prospect's  acquiescence  in  selling 
statements  be  assumed  by  the  salesman? 

12.  Why  should  a  prospect  be  prevented  from  en- 
gaging in  controversy? 


QUESTIONS   FOR  REVIEW.  403 

18.     What  is  the  advantage  of  a  general  summary  of 
the  selling  argument  before  closing  the  sale? 

14.  What  is  usually  the  chief  shortcoming  of  the 
salesman  who  has  difficulty  in  closing? 

15.  Give  an  instance  of  the  use  of  quiet  strategy  in 
closing  sales. 

16.  Can  the  art  of  securing  a  signature  to  an  order 
be  learned  by  experience? 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Sales  Organization. 

1.  Into  what  four  divisions  may  the  methods  of 
selling  manufactured  goods  be  broadly  divided? 

2.  How  are  goods  sold  direct  to  the  consumer? 

3.  What  is  the  advantage  of  this  method? 

4.  What  is  the  main  objection  to  selling  to  exclusive 
agencies? 

5.  In  selling  to  jobbers  why  is  close  connection  be- 
tween the  jobber  and  the  manufacturing  company  neces- 
sary? 

6.  What  points  must  be  considered  in  developing 
a  selling  force? 

7.  Why  should  both  salesman  and  sales  manager  be 
properly  checked  up  in  a  well-organized  system? 

8.  Why  does  the  average  selling  division  badly  need 
a  scientific  and  systematic  method  of  training? 

9.  What  are  the  advantages  of  a  proper  training  of 
the  employees  in  a  sales  department? 

10.     Can  a  loyal  and  enthusiastic  selling  organization 
be  developed  from  an  inefficient  department? 


404  QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 

11.  Can  the  principles  that  have  proved  successful 
in  the  case  of  great  manufacturing  concerns  be  success- 
fully adapted  to  the  conditions  of  small  businesses  in 
which  the  marketing  of  goods  is  necessary? 

12.  What  are  the  two  essential  features  of  a  scien- 
tific selling  system? 

13.  Why  is  the  "salesmen's  demonstration  meeting" 
of  the  greatest  importance? 

14.  What  are  the  main  objects  of  a  salesmen's  meet> 
ing? 

15.  Name  some  of  the  subjects  that  should  be,  taken 
up  at  a  typical  demonstration  meeting. 

16.  Why  should  new  products  and  developments  of 
the  business  be  announced  and  described  at  salesmen's 
meetings? 

17.  How  can  old  and  skillful  salesmen  be  used  in 
training  younger  members  of  the  selling  force? 

18.  Should  there  be  any  discussion  of  competing 
products  in  the  salesmen's  meeting,  and  if  so,  why? 

19.  Why  is  it  advantageous  to  have  the  proceedings 
of  salesmen's  meetings  reported  and  transcribed? 

20.  How  can  a  general  sales  manager  use  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  meeting  to  develop  local  branches? 

21.  What  is  the  reason  for  building  up  a  strong 
training  department  for  salesmen? 

22.  Why  should  all  local  managers  be  thoroughly 
trained  in  training  department  methods? 

23.  What  are  the   qualifications   and  duties  of  a 
capable  instructor? 

24.  What  are  the  routine  steps  in  the  systematic 
training  of  the  salesman? 


QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW.  405 

25.  Are  conventions  of  local  managers  at  the  home 
office  of  any  assistance  to  the  company? 

26.  What  points  should  be  covered  in  the  salesman's 
daily  reports? 

27.  What  is  the  advantage  of  daily  reports  from 
salesmen  in  the  field? 

28.  Should  there  be  a  fundamental  form  of  executive 
report  from  the  selling  division? 

29.  How  can  the  expense  items  be  calculated  for 
the  daily  record  of  sales  in  the  selling  division  ? 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

A  Manufacturer's  Campaign. 

1.  What  is  the  whole  end  and  aim  of  a  manufac- 
turer's efforts  ? 

2.  What  considerations  determine  the  location  of  a 
new  industry? 

3.  What  is  the  advantage  of  planting  a  factory  near 
the  raw  material? 

4.  What  selling  argument  does  nearness  to  the  raw 
material  give  a  sales  department? 

5.  On  what  theories  does  a  manufacturer  determine 
the  grade  of  his  product? 

6.  How  can  individuality  of  the  product  be  im- 
pressed upon  the  public? 

7.  Name  a  few  classes  of  manufactured  products  in 
which  distinctive  individuality  is  desirable. 

^  How  may  the  sales  field  be  expanded  and  de- 
veloped? 

0.  What  danger  is  to  be  avoided  in  advertising  a 
new  manufactured  product? 


406  QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 

10.  What  is  the  principle  known  as  "selling  the  prod- 
uct twice"? 

11.  What  steps  should  be  taken  by  a  manufacturer 
who  receives  an  inquiry  from  a  prospective? 

12.  What  is  the  first  problem  that  arises  in  organiz- 
ing a  force  of  salesmen  for  a  manufactured  product? 

13.  What  kind  of  system  can  be  established  to  as- 
certain whether  a  salesman  has  worked  his  territory  prop- 
erly or  not? 

14.  What  should  a  salesman  aim  to  accomplish  for 
the  house  besides  simply  convassing  his  territory  for 
sales? 

15.  What  is  the  difference  between  European  and 
American  methods — among  piano  manufacturers,  for 
instance? 

16.  How  can  the  manufacturer  figure  out  daily  the 
average  cost  of  a  sale  and  the  average  profit? 

17.  When  can  the  average  cost  of  each  sale  and  the 
profit  be  determined  accurately? 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Training  of  Agents. 

1.  Why  is  salesmanship  preferable  as  a  vocation  to 
many  other  callings,  including  the  professions? 

2.  What  is  the  one  thing  for  which  the  demand  is 
always  greater  than  the  supply? 

8.  What  is  a  good  way  for  a  novice  to  acquire  a 
knowledge  of  salesmanship? 

4.  Name  some  famous  Europeans  and  Americans 
who  were  proud  to  have  been  self-supporting  in  their 
youth  by  selling  goods  as  canvassers. 


QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW.  407 

5.  How  can  a  young  salesman  acquire  personal 
dignity  of  the  right  kind  for  his  work? 

6.  What  is  the  effect  upon  the  salesman  of  realiz- 
ing that  his  callink  is  an  honorable  one? 

7.  Is  evening  work  by  canvassers,  book  agents,  etc., 
to  be  commended  as  a  general  thing? 

8.  What  advantage  to  the  salesman  is  there  in  ob- 
serving strictly  the  requirements  of  the  house  as  to  daily 
reports? 

9.  What  preparation  is  necessary  before  starting  to 
work,  and  when  should  the  novice  start? 

10.  Upon  what  factor  in  the  salesman  does  success 
in  getting  orders  wholly  depend  ? 

11.  What  is  the  simple  cure  for  all  the  difficulties  en- 
countered by  agents  and  other  salesmen? 

12.  Why  is  it  desirable  to  study  the  theory  of  suc- 
cessful salesmanship  as  well  as  to  obtain  practice  in  the 
field? 

13.  What  are  the  three  factors  which  produce  suc- 
cess? 

14.  Is  it  sufficient  to  know  the  contents  of  a  book 
and  repeat  them  glibly  to  the  prospect  in  order  to  create 
interest? 

15.  How  can  a  spontaneous  and  interesting  style  of 
canvass  be  developed? 

16.  How  can  the  canvass  be  adapted  in  actual  prac- 
tice to  each  prospective  customer? 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Selling  a  Business  Service. — Part  1. 

1.     What  four  qualities  should  be  cultivated  by  a 
salesman  in  order  to  win  success? 


408  QUESTIONS  FOR   REVIEW. 

2.  What  is  the  first  step  toward  success  in  selling  an 
advertising  service? 

3.  In  working  country  territory  for  an  advertising 
service,    what   kind    of   towns    should    be    thoroughly 
covered? 

4.  What  is  enthusiasm  in  salesmanship  founded 
upon? 

5.  What  is  the  difference  between  a  salesman  and 
an  "order-taker"? 

6.  Give  an  example  of  successful  approach  by  type- 
writer salesmen? 

7.  Why  is  perseverance  one  of  the  most  desirable  of 
qualities? 

8.  What  is  the  first  thing  to  do  upon  landing  in  a 
town  to  sell  an  advertising  service? 

9.  How  should  the  local  newspaper  editor  be  ap- 
proached ? 

10.  How  should  the  local  banker  be  approached? 

11.  What  style  of  introductory  talk  may  be  used  to 
the  prospective  customer? 

12.  How  can  the  prospect  be  impressed  with  the  im- 
portance of  your  visit  ? 

18.     What  is  the  purpose  of  securing  testimonial  let- 
ters from  customers  already  sold? 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Selling  a  Business  Service. — Part  2. 

1.  How  can  the   sale   of  an   advertising   service 
usually  be  closed? 

2.  What  is  the  most  important  thing  in  answering 
an  objection? 


QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW.  409 

3.  What  answer  should  be  made  to  the  customer 
who  says  he  has  been  in  business  for  a  long  time  and 
doesn't  need  to  advertise? 

4.  What  answer  may  be  made  to  the  banker  who 
says «every body  in  town  knows  the  bank? 

5.  What  answers  may  be  made  to  men  who  say  they 
are  too  busy  to  talk  ? 

6.  How  can  the  objection  that  the  prospect  has  to 
advertise  in  local  programs,  etc.,  be  met  by  the  sales- 
man? 

7.  How  can  objections  to  the  price  of  a  service 
be  answered? 

8.  What  can  be  done  with  a  prospect  who  says  he 
"can't  afford  it"? 

9.  How  should  the  salesman  proceed  when  he  meets 
a  silent  prospect,  who  refuses  to  talk? 

10.  What  can  be  said  to  the  man  who  insists  that  he 
"can  do  without  it"? 

11.  What  is  the  answer  to  the  prospect  who  says 
"business  is  dull"? 

12.  What  can  be  said  in  the  case  of  a  man  who  insists 
that  he  "knows  more  about  his  own  business"  than  the 
salesman  does? 

13.  What  answer  can  be  made  to  the  prospect  who 
"will  take  it  up  in  the  future"? 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Selling  a  Business  Service.— Part  3. 

1.  Why  should  all  statements  be  made  positive? 

2.  Should  salesmen  cherish  the  idea  that  "°ome  men 
are  too  hard  to  sell"? 


410  QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 

3.  If  a  man  is  reported  "hard  to  sell,'  what  should 
the  scientific  salesman  do? 

4.  Should  a  salesman  joke  with  a  prospect  ?     If  not, 
why  not? 

5.  What  is  the  possible  effect  of  brilliancy  in  sell- 
ing talk? 

6.  What  fact  should  be  kept  constantly  before  the 
prospect's  mind  in  selling  an  advertising  service? 

7.  What  should  be  done  with  men  who  haven't  the 
authority  to  sign  an  order  and  won't  admit  it  ? 

8.  How  should  the  salesman  proceed  with  men  who 
lack  the  nerve  to  sign  orders,  or  men  afraid  of  their  own 
judgment? 

9.  What  is  the  answer  to  the  prospect  who  says  that 
the  salesman  is  only  trying  to  make  his  commission? 

10.  What  is  a  good  method  of  bringing  a  prospect 
to  the  signing  point? 

11.  What  answer  can  be  made  to  the  man  who  objects 
to  signing  an  order? 

12.  Mention  some  price  arguments  that  may  be  used 
with  success. 

13.  How  can  a  customer  be  made  to  give  the  sales- 
man a  reference? 

14.  How  can  the  customer  be  made  to  realize  that 
he  cannot  make  his  own  terms? 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Traveling  Salesmen. 

1.  What  was  the  earliest  form  of  commercial  trav- 
eling on  record? 

2.  Were  the  old-time  traveling  merchants  held  in 
respect,  or  otherwise? 


QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW.  411 

3.  What  economic  conditions  contributed  to  the  evo- 
lution of  the  modern  traveler? 

4.  How  is  commercial  traveling  affected  by  the  ex- 
pense of  freight  transportation? 

5.  Why  were  old-time  traders  unable  to  send  their 
emissaries  far  afield? 

6.  At  what  period  did  commercial  traveling  as  a  vo- 
cation really  come  into  existence  ? 

7.  What  developments  were  noted  early  in  the  nine- 
teenth century  in  the  case  of  British  traveling? 

8.  What  is  the  origin  of  the  term  "bagmen"  as  ap- 
plied to  commercial  travelers? 

9.  Is  the  term  now  used  in  Britain? 

10.  What  changes  in  commercial  traveling  occurred 
in  England  during  the  last  half  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury? 

11.  What  effect  had  foreign  competition  upon  the 
English  traveler? 

12.  How  were  the  margins  of  profit  reduced? 

13.  How  did  travelers  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  profit  from  the  improvement  in  standards  of 
quality  ? 

14.  What  effect  has  the  increase  of  knowledge  on 
the  part  of  buyers  had  upon  traveling? 

15.  What  has  been  the  effect  of  cooperative  trading 
on  wholesale  business  in  Britain? 

16.  Why  did  commercial  travelers  flourish  when  mar- 
ket information  was  scarce? 

17.  What  has  been  the  effect  upon  the  traveling  sales- 
man of  the  rapid  increase  in  trade  journal  circulation? 


412  QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 

18.  What  are  the  functions  of  the  British  commercial 
traveler  in  the  collection  of  accounts? 

19.  Is  traveling  salesmanship  an  important  factor  of 
American  business? 

20.  What  limitations  are  placed  upon  the  field  of 
American  travelers  in  the   distribution  of  American 
goods? 

21.  Give  a  good  brief  definition  of  a  traveling  sales- 
man. 

22.  In  what  three  principal  ways  is  wholesale  distri- 
bution effected  in  the  present  day? 

23.  How  has  the  organization  of  great  corporations 
tended  to  reduce  the  number  of  traveling  salesmen  ? 

24.  Into  what  two  classes  may  roadmen  be  divided? 

25.  How  does  a  "special"  salesman  differ  from  a 
"general"  salesman? 

26.  What  considerations  are  taken  into  account  by  a 
sales  manager  in  laying  out  territory  for  traveling  sales- 
men? 

27.  What  three  systems  are  used  by  traveling  sales- 
men in  making  their  territory? 

28.  What  other  duties  fall  to  traveling  salesmen  be- 
sides selling  goods? 

29.  What  are  the  three  principal  methods  of  com- 
pensation employed  by  wholesale  concerns  in  dealing 
with  their  traveling  salesmen? 

80.  How  is  the  liberality  of  "the  house"  in  regard  to 
travelers'  expenses  usually  governed? 

31.  Why  is  it  necessary  for  a  business  concern  to  use 
the  utmost  care  in  the  selection  of  traveling  salesmen? 

82.  What  methods  are  used  by  sales  managers  to 
maintain  control  over  their  roadmen? 


QUESTIONS  FOE  REVIEW.  418 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Keeping  Track  of  Prospects. 

1.  What  department  of  a  business  keeps  track  of 
prospects  and  for  what  purpose? 

2.  Should  a  salesman  himself  keep  records  of  pros- 
pects and  customers? 

3.  How  can  this  be  conveniently  done? 

4.  What  is  the  nature  of  a  salesman's  card  index? 

5.  What  is  the  object  of  a  follow-up  file? 

6.  How  can  a  salesman  most  conveniently  lay  out 
his  work  for  each  day? 

7.     What  kind  of  indexes  and  files  are  kept  by  a  mod- 
ern sales  department? 

8.  How  can  a  sales  department  keep  track  of  in- 
quiries received  through  advertising? 

9.  What  should  a  weekly  report  to  a  prospect  de- 
partment from  a  branch  house  show  in  detail? 

10.  How  should  follow-up  letters  be  systematized? 

11.  Sketch  briefly  the  rules  for  keeping  up  a  typical 
prospect  system. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Psychology  of  Salesmanship.— Part  1. 

1.  What  is  meant  by  the  psychology  of  salesman- 
ship? 

2.  Should  this  branch  of  study  be  taken  up  by  in- 
telligent salesmen? 

3.  What  basic  principle  must  be  first  accepted? 

4.  Why  is  a  knowledge  of  the  metaphysical  theory 
of  salesmanship  an  advantage  to  an  expert  salesman? 


414  QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 

5.  What  mental  conditions  in  the  customer  and  the 
salesman  are  necessary  in  order  to  make  a  sale? 

6.  Upon  what  does  the  harmony  of  any  two  minds 
depend? 

7.  What  are  the  elementary  principles  of  confidence 
and  suggestion? 

8.  What  is  the  basis  of  the  confidence  of  one  indi- 
vidual in  another? 

9.  What   is   meant   by   objective   and   subjective 
attention? 

10.  What  is  necessary  in  a  salesman  to  secure  the 
interest  of  his  prospective  customer? 

11.  What  is  "suggestion"  and  is  it  of  value  in  sales- 
manship ? 

12.  What  is  the  distinction  between  the  senses  and 
the  sensibilities? 

13.  Name  three  methods  of  suggestion  used  by  ex- 
pert salesmen. 

14.  How  can  a  feeling  entertained  by  a  prospective 
customer  be  changed  by  the  salesman? 

15.  How  can  an  appeal  be  made  to  the  customer's 
imagination? 

16.  Is  a  direct  appeal  to  the  intellect  of  the  customer 
ever  effective,  and  how  is  it  accomplished? 

17.  What  is  meant  by  an  appeal  to  the  emotion? 

18.  How  may  suggestion  be  used  in  retail  selling? 

19.  What  are  the  three  essentials  of  persuasion,  as 
laid  down  by  Aristotle? 

20.  What  is  the  Law  of  Suggestive  Salesmanship,  as 
deduced  by  Corbion? 


QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW.  415 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Psychology  of  Salesmanship. — Part  2. 

1.  Is  there  any  mystery  about  the  methods  of  scien- 
tific salesmanship? 

2.  How  can  a  successful  salesman  derive  the  great- 
est pleasure  from  his  work? 

3.  Are  the  qualities  of  scientific  salesmanship  ever 
used  successfully  without  consciousness  of  their  use  on 
the  part  of  the  salesman? 

4.  Why  is  practical  psychology  receiving  marked 
attention  from  modern  business  men? 

5.  What  is  the  most  important  kind  of  self-knowl- 
edge from  a  business  standpoint? 

6.  What  is  meant  by  "soul  power"   or  "psychic 
force"? 

7.  Can  "personal  magnetism"  be  cultivated? 

8.  What  is  the  first  step  toward  cultivation  of  the 
power  of  attraction? 

9.  What  is  the  second  step? 

10.  What  is  the  effect  upon  the  customer's  mind  of 
intense  earnestness  on  the  part  of  the  salesman? 

11.  Should  the  mental  harmony  which  the  scientific 
salesman  aims  to  establish  between  himself  and  the  pros- 
pect be  confused  with  hypnotism  or  anything  of  that 
sort? 

12.  What  effect,  if  any,  have  varying  conditions  of 
the  mind  on  the  bodily  functions? 

13.  How  can  abnormal  and  vicious  mental  influences 
be  successfully  combated? 

14.  What  is  the  effect  of  antagonism  upon  a  really 
strong  character? 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

RENEWALS  ONLY— TEL.  NO.  642-3405 
This  book  is  due  on  the  last  dace  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


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REC'D  LD  m 

1  0  70  -10AM  9  5' 

MAR  10  1973  7< 

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UlMIV.  Ur  LMLIi.,  BtrvIN, 

BtD.CWJW25-84 

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General  Library 

University  of  California 

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